GALLOWAY, N.J. â If you tune into the ShopRite LPGA Classic this fall, youâll be witnessing history. NBC announced this week that the event will be broadcast by an all-female team, a first for U.S. golf telecasts.
Cara Banks will handle play-by-play duties with Judy Rankin and Paige Mackenzie alongside as analysts. Karen Stupples and Kay Cockerill will be the on-course reporters, with Beth Hutter working as lead producer.
âI think this has been a long time coming,â Banks said at the announcement at the Seaview Hotel. âI am pumped ⦠This is what Iâve been waiting to do.â
Hutter also made history earlier this summer as she became the first woman to produce the U.S. Womenâs Open and womenâs golf at the Tokyo Olympics.
âWeâre thrilled to assemble this incredibly accomplished group of women for our broadcast,â said Molly Solomon, executive producer for Golf Channel. âOur NBC Sports team features talented women at all levels â both on-camera and behind-the-scenes â who are essential to making our coverage a success on every platform, and weâre honored to celebrate their work as part of this broadcast.â
The announcement follows a trend of women breaking glass ceilings with NBC over the last several years.
A March 2020 game between the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks marked the first all-woman broadcast crew for NHL hockey, while earlier this year Rene Hatlelid became the first woman to produce the Indianapolis 500. Lindsay Schanzer also became the first woman to produce a Triple Crown horse race during both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
âItâs 2021 â it should be like thatâ defending ShopRite Classic champion Mel Reid said. âIt just goes to show golf is moving in the right direction. Golf has been slightly behind in that, so to see it progressing, even over the last year or so, has been pretty amazing to watch and something that Iâm pretty proud of.â