Canadian golf fans woke up Friday morning eager to catch the start of the Ryder Cup from Bethpage Black in New York. Instead, many were met with documentaries about Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods—and not a single tee shot.
TSN golf analyst Bob Weeks was among the first to flag the issue. “Oh boy. Someone has messed up Ryder Cup coverage in Canada,” he wrote on X. “If you’re on Bell, no problem — you can watch on Golf Channel. But Rogers and Telus are showing a Jack Nicklaus documentary. Understandable, folks aren’t happy,” Weeks posted.
While Weeks later said the problems didn’t seem to affect Telus everywhere, fans in British Columbia claimed they also couldn’t find the broadcast. The issue appeared to stem from Canadian providers pulling the wrong feed of Golf Channel, leaving Rogers and Telus customers without live coverage of golf’s biggest team event.
The first shot of the Ryder Cup was struck at 7:10 a.m., but many Canadians didn’t see it. Reports suggested the signal was restored for some by 8:30 a.m. — nearly 90 minutes after play had started.
The problems didn’t end there. Cogeco customers in Ontario said the afternoon four-ball session wasn’t available either, with some instead getting a Tiger Woods documentary. Cogeco admitted to one customer it was aware of the problem and working on it. By about 3 p.m., some subscribers told Postmedia the feed had finally returned.
As the Toronto Sun noted, it’s not the first time Canadian sports broadcasts have been disrupted by regional feeds. U.S. networks often shift events between channels such as Golf Channel and USA Network, and those changes don’t always transfer cleanly to Canadian providers.
While Americans also reported some glitches—including broken audio on Peacock and NBC Sports—coverage south of the border was generally smoother, with the Ryder Cup account reminding viewers that matches were airing on USA Network.
Unfortunately, many Canadian fans missed out on one of the Ryder Cup’s biggest traditions: the crazy and insane atmosphere of the first tee on Friday morning.
Europe built a commanding 11½ – 4½ lead over the U.S. after Saturday’s sessions—the largest margin ever entering Sunday singles under the current format (14 points are needed by Europe to retain the cup). That means the U.S. will need a near-miraculous comeback: they must win at least 10 of the 12 singles matches on Sunday just to take the cup (14.5 points required).
