The Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale is so much fun that NBC Sports and Golf Channel are going to broadcast it twice.

The two networks are partners, both owned by corporate daddy Comcast, the cable giant. Golf Channel usually covers the early weekend golf before switching over to NBC Sports for the 3-6 p.m. Eastern time finish.

This weekend, however, Golf Channel will stay on the air from 3-5 p.m. Eastern to cover the action on TPC Scottsdale’s 15th, 16th and 17th holes while the regular NBC telecast with Johnny Miller [right] is on the air. The par-3 16th is one of the most famous par 3s in golf due to the wild and raucous crowds who cheer -- or boo -- every shot. Here's part of the press release:

While NBC is on the air live from 3-6 p.m. ET this weekend with traditional coverage, Golf Channel also will be on the air live with its Spotlight coverage, but focusing only on the challenging stretch that encompasses the 15th, 16th and 17th holes. The 15th hole is a par 5 that can be reached in two, making eagle chances well within the realm of possibility. The 16th hole is the famous par 3 – known as “The Coliseum” – which is completely surrounded by as many as 20,000 rowdy spectators and creating a raucous atmosphere akin to a football game. And, the par 4 17th hole can be reached from the tee, but several greenside hazards pose interesting choices for gambling pros. Golf Channel’s Spotlight coverage will conclude at 5 p.m. ET each day, when viewers will be directed to the final hour of NBC’s third- and final-round coverage.

Here’s a helpful schedule if you’ve got an itchy clicker-finger. And the Super Bowl starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Thursday 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)

Friday 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live traditional coverage)

Saturday 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live lead-in coverage)
Saturday 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC live traditional coverage)
Saturday 3-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live Spotlight coverage)

Sunday 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live lead-in coverage)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC live traditional coverage)
Sunday 3-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel live Spotlight coverage)

[Photo: Getty Images]

Live network coverage of the PGA Tour is coming soon to a laptop or smartphone near you.

The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that it would offer a live stream of the CBS Sports' telecast of the Farmers Insurance Open this weekend and continue to simulcast PGA Tour events online for the rest of the season. Visitors to PGATOUR.com and CBSSports.com will be directed to a co-branded video player to watch live streaming of CBS Sports’ third-round telecast on Saturday (3-6 p.m. ET) and fourth-round telecast on Sunday (3-6:30 p.m. ET). The live streaming this weekend also will be available on PGA TOUR platforms as well as CBS Sports and CBS SportCaster applications for the iPhone, Android and iPad. CBS also will have a mobile web-based player available at m.cbssports.com.

Golf Channel and NBC Sports coverage will also be available online at next week's Waste Management Phoenix Open, although only people whose cable companies carry the Golf Channel will be able to watch the Golf Channel's coverage online. NBC Sports' broadcasts -- like the CBS Sports broadcasts -- will be available to all Internet subscribers in the United States. The online streaming will not be accessible overseas.

All Golf Channel, through TV Everywhere availability, and NBC telecasts also will be streamed throughout the 2013 season, with Golf Channel available to multichannel video subscribers, and NBC’s weekend coverage of 12 FedExCup tournaments fully available beginning with next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Golf Channel is televising the early rounds for all 30 FedExCup tournaments on NBC and CBS, as well as all four rounds for six tournaments.

CBS Sports also covers the Masters, which does its own streaming on the Masters.com website and the tournament's associated apps.

“This is a significant milestone in the PGA Tour’s digital history,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a written statement. “We are excited to work with CBS Sports to bring live PGA Tour action online, and look forward to continuing our efforts with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel to develop ways golf fans can access live coverage of the PGA Tour from wherever they are.”

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in Abu Dhabi (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are kicking off their 2013 seasons this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Abu Dhabi is nine hours ahead of the East Coast of the U.S., so you'll have to seek out Golf Channel at some odd hours if you want to watch live. Below is the broadcast schedule (all times Eastern ).

Wednesday, January 16: Golf Channel 10:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. (continues on Thursday)

Thursday, January 17: Golf Channel 12:00 - 8:30 a.m.

Friday, January 18: Golf Channel 2:30 - 8:00 a.m.

Saturday, January 19: Golf Channel 4:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Sunday, January 20: Golf Channel 4:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Golf Channel talk show host David Feherty announced the guest stars for the third-season of his "Feherty" show on Monday, and it is strictly A-list, according to the Hollywood Reporter's Marisa Guthrie.

The third season of "Feherty" includes interviews with golfing icon Billy Casper – a 51-time winner on the PGA Tour and three-time major winner – at his Utah home. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who has been married to the same woman for 60 years (they have eleven children), Casper takes Feherty to a rehearsal of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Subsequent interviews include volatile, chair-throwing basketball coach Bobby Knight, golfers Jack Nicklaus, Paul Azinger, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie, as well as PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

Feherty also provided some entertainment for the members of the Television Critics Association.

He regaled gathered reporters with tales of his checkered past as an addict, his views on the game now (“golf is a depressing sport”; everyone who plays it has some form of PTSD), and his interviews with luminaries including Bill Clinton (who said it has been one of his “great dreams” to be interviewed by Feherty) and Samuel L. Jackson (“he has very little time for anyone who finds him impressive,” said Feherty).

There are so many great moments in this video. First "Morning Drive" host Gary Williams playfully jabs long-drive champion Jamie Sadlowski before they hit into Golf Channel's fancy simulator.

"I don't let people come into my house and push me around," Williams crows. Then Sadlowski steps up and hits a drive so hard it blows through the net, and then through the screen of the simulator.

Williams then replies, "This contest is officially over!"

Related Video: Sadlowski's secret for more power

A high-spirited Arnold Palmer stopped by the Golf Channel's Morning Drive on Thursday, and he had a message for Rory McIlroy: Play Bay Hill…or else.

“I’m going to tell you something," Palmer joked during the interview, "If he doesn’t come and play Bay Hill, he might have a broken arm and he won’t have to worry about where he’s going to play next."

Don't mess with the King, kid.

That wasn't Palmer's only message to Rory: He also advised the World No. 1 not to rush his career, and  voiced his opinion on friendly rivalries -- something he and a guy named Jack know a lot about -- for McIlroy and Tiger Woods to take notes on.

RELATED: Arnold Palmer Homepage on Golf.com

Watch the full 15-minute video below:

Memo to PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem: Send Rory a fruit basket. And one for Tiger, too.

The commish should be thanking his lucky -- and compelling -- stars for this year's TV ratings, which were way, way up over last year across all channels that broadcast the Tour, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal.

Just how big a jump are we talking? Check out the chart that accompanied Karp's article below:

For NBC, the 3.42 million viewer average for weekend rounds marks the highest since their current contract began back in 2007. That contract gives NBC weekend coverage of some of the Tour's biggest tournaments, including the Memorial, the Players and, of course, the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Those were made for more compelling television this year than last, when Tiger Woods missed three months of the season, and the Woods/McIlroy rivalry/lovefest wasn't relevant atop the tour.

All that aside, somewhere you just know Johnny Miller is saying, "You're welcome."

Leave it to Bubba Watson to pantomime what many critics think about the Golf Channel's daytime filler coverage.

Special thanks to Yahoo!'s Jonathan Wall, who tracked down this video of TGC's Alex Miceli (guest starring the Masters champ) from last week at the Barclays.

Watson, like most reasonable people, appeared unmoved by the newfound knowledge that Charlie Hoffman plays 2007 model-year Pro-V1s, and ... let's go to the tape:

Clearly, Watson was eager to get back to the infomercials of Montel Williams endorsing Tommie Copper Compression Sleeves, and Mark O'Meara selling Medicus Drivers. You know, the good stuff.

(Also of note here are the related videos provided by YouTube at the end of the clip. "Bentley the Bulldog Puppy is Fussy pt. 2," "Smoky the Kitten & Mr. Squirrel," and Synchronized Fountain Swimming. Golf fans, this is what the Internet thinks of you.)

As you probably guessed, covering golf can be a glamorous gig. Like being the prince of Monaco, or a Kardashian. Just look at this group of intrepid reporters being whisked away to another tournament.

It was a sleepy group of scribes, shooters and golf geeks on the 6 a.m. shuttle this morning. #PGAChamp twitter.com/DavidDusek/sta…

— David Dusek (@DavidDusek) August 10, 2012

Yeah. It's pretty posh. Then again, none of those guys are Holly Sonders, host of Golf Channel's "Morning Drive." And, no offense to any of the intrepid scribes pictured, but golf fans probably like Holly Sonders more than they like any of those guys.

That's why she doesn't travel by bus. According to a photo she tweeted Tuesday, she doesn't even travel by commercial airline. After missing her scheduled flight to the Wyndham Championship, the tournament sent its charter jet to pick her up so she could make the pre-event festivities.

Can't make my flight to Wyndham Championship draw party/ Pro-am so tournament director sent this to get me. Pretty cool twitter.com/HollySondersGC…

— Holly Sonders (@HollySondersGC) August 14, 2012

Yeah, Holly. That is pretty cool. And the mini-red carpet is a nice touch. Please, grab as many peanuts as you can. The huddled masses in the press tent are starving.

Michael Phelps is getting ready for his final Olympic games before he hangs up his Speedo, and he already knows what he wants to do after he gets out of the pool. According to ESPN's Rick Reilly, Phelps is going to play a lot of golf.

The Human Fish is ready to try land.

"I want to play all the great (golf) courses," says the 26-year-old Phelps, who is even taking lessons from Hank Haney. "(Bowman) gave me a poster with the 100 greatest courses in the world on it, and every time I play one, I put a little pin in it."

How many pins so far?

"Zero."

Rory's Bobblehead
The U.S. Open is being held in San Francisco next month, and the Giants are planning to honor defending champion Rory McIlroy the only way baseball teams can -- with his very own bobblehead. Have a look ...

Colonial Guide
There's plenty to do around the Dallas-Fort Worth area if you're in town for the Colonial, and Golf Channel's Win McMurry found a nearby putt-putt course with a unique hazard -- cow poop. (Fast forward to the 3-minute mark.)

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