Golf Channel's IN PLAY WITH JIMMY ROBERTS to Return 4/23

In Play With Jimmy Roberts returns Tuesday, April 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel with a new slate of real-life stories that encompass The Game of golf in this critically-acclaimed newsmagazine series.

Tuesday's new episode features Al Geiberger - the first player in history to shoot a record-low score of 59 in a PGA TOUR sanctioned event - watching his achievement for the first time; former Atlanta Constitution editorial page editor Reg Murphy recalling how golf helped him survive a 1974 kidnapping; and Golf Channel's Rich Lerner taking viewers on a fun-filled tour to some of the most unusual golf tournaments imaginable.

Host and managing editor Jimmy Roberts, a 13-time Emmy Award-winner, has drawn critical praise for telling some of sports' greatest stories during his distinguished career at NBC Sports, ESPN and ABC News and ABC Sports, which includes covering 14 Olympics. Described as "an enterprising new original series" by Sports Illustrated and a "gorgeously shot magazine show" by CableFAX Daily, In Play With Jimmy Roberts is a monthly series that chronicles stories ranging from celebrities to everyday people who are all unified by golf.

Scheduled features on the Tuesday, April 23 episode:

- Al Geiberger's Historic 59 Revealed - Al Geiberger was the first player to record a 59 in a PGA TOUR sanctioned event during the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1977. The tournament did not air on any broadcast networks. However, a local news crew from WMC-TV in Memphis captured this historic achievement, but Geiberger never saw that evening's news. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, a fire destroyed the station, which housed the only known video footage. In Play chronicles how the video resurfaced and surprises Geiberger and his family by showing them the historic 59 for the first time.

- Kidnapped: But Golf Helped Me Survive - While serving as an editor for the Atlanta Constitution, Reg Murphy was the victim of a kidnapping in 1974. He credits golf with helping him survive while being locked in the trunk of a car during the 49-hour ordeal. He visualized a recent round, shot by shot, at Augusta National, home of the Masters. With contributions from NBC News' Tom Brokaw and longtime Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor Jim Minter, Murphy shares his harrowing tale with Jimmy Roberts.

- Unusual Golf Tournaments - Rich Lerner takes viewers on a journey to some of the most unusual golf tournaments and profiles the characters that make these "off-the-track" events so popular. The Mustache Open, the Cow Pasture Open in Montana, the National Hickory Championship in West Virginia, the Snow Golf Tournament at Alpine Meadows, and the annual Bobby Jones Open, where all participants are aptly named, "Bobby Jones," are featured.

In Play with Jimmy Roberts complements Golf Channel's award-winning and critically-acclaimed slate of original programming, including Feherty, The Haney Project: Michael Phelps and Big Break. The Haney Project: Michael Phelps and Feherty have bolstered Golf Channel's Monday primetime lineup since their season premieres in February, up 21 percent vs. 2012 and 62 percent vs. 2011 for the same time span. Big Break, Golf Channel's successful reality competition series, returns Monday, May 13 for its 19th season in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

As the fastest-growing network on television, Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. As part of the NBC Sports Group, professional golf coverage on NBC is branded "Golf Channel on NBC," further extending The Golf Channel brand to NBC's broadcast audiences. Exclusive partnerships with the world's top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf's best news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel's digital platform of businesses is led by www.GolfChannel.com, a leading golf destination on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and where to play golf.

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