TPC Harding Park hosts the first major of the restarted 2020 golf season and action is now under way in San Francisco, with all the top players hitting the course today for the biggest tournament of the year so far. It’s as close as we’ve come to a 100% full strength field, one that features new world no.1 Justin Thomas, back-to-back PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka (in 2018 and 2019), and a certain Mr Tiger Woods – who’s rollercoaster first round saw him finish on -2, on three shots off the clubhouse leader at the time. Follow our guide as we explain how to watch a PGA Championship live stream from anywhere in the world right now.
2020 PGA Championship
The 2020 PGA Championship takes place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco from Thursday, August 6 to Sunday, August 9. US coverage is split between ESPN and CBS, while Sky Sports has the rights in the UK. Full streaming options and TV details are below, or if you just need to know how to watch your home feed from abroad, then the answer is a VPN – save up to 50% today.
We say ‘nearly’ 100% as there are a handful of absences, with South African Branden Grace forced to withdraw after testing positive for coronavirus, while European fans will be disappointed that Ryder Cup hero Francesco Molinari isn’t making the trip to California either this week.
That still leaves us with an absolutely stacked field, with 2017 winner Thomas entering as the pre-tournament favorite alongside fellow American Brooks Koepka – the major’s reigning back-to-back champion out for what would be a frankly incredible three-peat. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau – they’re all here.
That makes for some pretty amazing first round featured groups, with these three-balls some of the most mouthwatering we’ve seen all year. All times are US Eastern Time (ET).
- 11.22am: Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
- 11.33am: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas
- 4.47pm: Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, Adam Scott
- 4.58pm: Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia
If last week’s final round drama at the WGC St Jude Invitational in any indication, golf fans are in for a treat this week. Who will sit atop the leaderboard come Sunday? There’s only one way to find out. Follow our guide as we explain how to watch the PGA Championship online and get a PGA live stream no matter where you are in the world today.
How to watch the PGA Championship from outside your country
We’ve got a full breakdown of country-by-country PGA viewing options below, but the first thing you should know is that anyone who might be abroad at the moment can still tune into the action as usual by using one of the best VPNs.
This nifty bit of software allows you to get around geo-blocking restrictions and watch golf online using the same PGA live stream you normally would at home. Best of all, they only take a few minutes to set-up – and are seriously affordable.
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How to get a FREE PGA Championship live stream and watch PGA Tour golf in the US
In the US, coverage of the PGA Championship is being split between ESPN and CBS this year.
PGA Championship 2020: TV coverage, live streams and times
The bulk of early coverage is streaming-only courtesy of ESPN+, which goes live at 10am ET/7am PT for rounds 1 and 2 on Thursday and Friday, after which ESPN linear joins the party at 4pm ET/1pm PT those days.
At the weekend, the final two rounds (where the real drama happens) also feature early ESPN coverage, but on linear TV only – though cable subscribers to ESPN can also get a live simulcast on the network’s website by logging in with details of their provider. Round 3 on air from 1-4pm ET/10am-1pm PT on Sunday and Sunday’s final round action live between 12-3pm ET/9am-12pm PT.
Thereafter, CBS takes over for the bulk of the final round two rounds, with coverage of Saturday’s 3rd round from 4-10pm ET/1-7pm PT and Sunday’s final round from 3-9pm ET/12-6pm. Cable customers can similarly watch on the CBS website – or you can get the best of both worlds, without cable, with an over-the-top streaming service.
How to watch the PGA Championship FREE without cable
Both ESPN linear and CBS can be had together on fuboTV, which offers a FREE 7-day trial and therefore means you can watch the 2020 PGA Championship for nothing if you play your cards right. Sign up in a breeze, too, and while you do have to input your credit card details to verify your identity, a wide variety of providers are accepting, including some internationally recognized options for the globetrotters among you.
You’ll need your US zip code handy, too, but only to determine which local channels you’ll get – not as a starting point for demanding your full address and starting to pry into your banking details, for the privacy-conscious out there.
Fubo also makes it really easy to cancel – the unsubscribe option is front and center in the ‘My Account’ section of your profile, located in the top-right corner of the screen – not buried at the bottom of some FAQ page. Should you decide to keep it, it’s priced from $59.99 a month regularly.
For those just after Saturday and Sunday’s crunch action, then you can also check out CBS All-Access, the network’s streaming-only offering, which also offers a free trial.
How to watch the PGA Championship from abroad
If you’re a US resident out of the country and want to access one of the above options just like you normally would, then you can use a VPN to effectively transport your computer, phone or tablet’s IP back home – ExpressVPN being our current favorite.
PGA Championship 2020 live stream: how to watch PGA golf online in the UK
If you’re a UK-based golf fan, you’ll likely know that Sky Sports has the rights to most events on your side of the Atlantic – and that includes the 2020 PGA Championship.
Sky’s live coverage is comprehensive throughout, starting on Sky Sports Golf at 6pm BST all four days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Sky subscribers can use the Sky Go app to live stream the PGA Tour golf this week, while anyone else can take advantage of a Now TV Sky Sports pass – the best value of which is the Now TV Sky Sports month pass.
Those who might find themselves outside of the UK for this tournament can follow our instructions above to get a VPN and watch the golf via a live stream just like they would at home.
PGA live stream: how to watch the PGA Championship 2020 in Canada
Golf fans in Canada have it pretty great for the 2020 PGA Championship, thanks to TSN.
It’s providing comprehensive coverage of the year’s first Major between its stable of TV channels and digital streaming options, with coverage starting at 10am ET/7am MT (Pacific time) each day.
If you get TSN as part of your cable package, then you’ll just be able to log in to the TSN website with details of your provider and get access to a PGA live stream.
If you don’t have cable, then you can subscribe to TSN on a streaming-only basis from just CA$4.99 a month.
Remember that if you can normally access golf coverage in Canada, you can make use of a VPN to access all the services and content you would back home.
How to watch a PGA Championship live stream in Australia
In Australia, the most comprehensive golf coverage around is available through Kayo Sports – a great over-the-top streaming service that offers access to over 50 sports live and on-demand, courtesy of partnerships with big name pay TV channels like Fox Sports, ESPN, and beIN Sports.
Coverage starts at 6am AEST on the mornings of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (August 6-9) and we’ve checked Kayo’s listing to confirm that the PGA Championship is being aired at those times.
Best of all, Kayo even offers a free 14-day trial, so you can watch the first Major of the year without paying a penny! You’ll need your Australian mobile handy, though, as registering for the service requires you to verify it using 2FA.
On TV, Foxtel subscribers will find the PGA Championship available to watch on Fox Sport Australia, which is channel 503.
PGA Championship 2020: first round preview
Originally scheduled for May, Covid-19 put the Championship on the back burner for many months, along with two of 2020’s other majors – the US Open and the Masters, now taking place later in the year. They’re the lucky ones, too, as the British Open and Ryder Cup are both cancelled this year.
As we’ve said, Justin Thomas is the favorite in Vegas. The WGC St Jude was his third PGA Tour win of the season, ensuring Jon Rahm’s time as world no.1 was short and sweet. But perhaps most significantly for the 27-year-old is the fact that he staged a four-shot comeback in the final round to win the event, which should give him a real confidence boost heading into San Fran.
JT faces stiff competition from his fellow Americans, though, most notably back-to-back PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, who finished second at the WGC St Jude and will look to make it an incredible Major three-peat at Harding Park this week. The chances of in-form Bryson DeChambeau are also being talked up by many pundits, the PGA’s resident headwear advocate having excelled since he packed on the muscle during lockdown.
We’re also still waiting for the real Rory McIlroy to please stand up, with the former world no.1 earning only one top 10 finish since golf restarted this summer, despite playing in 10 events. And perennial suburban housewife crush Phil Mickelson continues to defy Father Time out on the course, with more than a few superb rounds under his belt this summer.