But for one week in April the gallery is opened and like a pallet of pastels the patrons are brush-stroked across the course as creeping magnolias, dogwood and azaleas frame its signature holes.

By Sunday evening the painting will have revealed a new story, but will it be of a Master familiar to us all or an unknown artist waiting to be discovered?

'What, where, when?' I hear you cry!

Well, coverage of this year's Masters is more extensive than ever. I've blogged before about how we show every frame that our American hosts permit and this year, for the first time, we will have access to five hours live coverage of the final round, allowing you to see all those players in contention tee it up from the very first hole.

We will also be adding 30 minutes to our normal midnight off-air time on Thursday and Friday, and to get you in the mood - and time zone - we'll be showing the Par 3 contest live on the red button this Wednesday between 2000 and 2200 BST.

"But we want more!!" OK... on all four days you will have the opportunity to watch bonus live action, ahead of our network coverage on BBC One & Two, by watching our Amen Corner feed.

This will be available on both the red button and online from around 1600 BST on the first two days and just a little later at the weekend.

This will allow you to watch players tackle the famous 11th, 12th and 13th holes where the golf can be as spectacular as the view.

Ahead of all that, BBC Sport Online's Rob Hodgetts, out here in Augusta for the first time and beside himself with excitement, will, and has been, filing regular blogs and as ever we welcome all your feedback.

Our radio team will provide their usual excellent service with Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra carrying all four days led by Iain Carter alongside Andrew Cotter, John Murray, Alistair Bruce Ball, with expert analysis from Jay Townsend and new signing Andrew Magee, who has played in seven Masters.

Our television coverage will be simulcast on the BBC High Definition channel and Gary Lineker will present all the action.

Sadly Hazel Irvine is not with us in Augusta, but for a very good reason, she and husband Fid have recently had a baby girl, Gina... sit back and enjoy the coverage, Haze.

That means Shane O'Donoghue will be our man grabbing the players on the 18th and commentating on all the action will be Peter Alliss, Ken Brown, Sam Torrance and Wayne Grady.

What will they see? Well, a third major in a row for Ireland's Padraig Harrington, perhaps a fairytale post-surgery comeback for world number one, Tiger Woods, or could a 19-year-old from Holywood, Belfast, become the youngest winner ever? Now that would be a Master stroke! Enjoy the coverage.

There will be great interest to see if there might be a home winner. Royal Birkdale is the only course on the Open rota that has never had a European Champion, previous winners include Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino and Mark O'Meara.

Having come third at the US Open, Lee Westwood is amongst the favourites as is last year's winner Padraig Harrington although news on Tuesday that he is suffering from a wrist injury could hamper his defence. But for those who have spent the last month or so enjoying our coverage of the European football championship and Wimbledon, how about last year's runner up Sergio Garcia adding to the success of the Spanish football team and Rafael Nadal?

Live coverage starts on Thursday and, as with all our big events, there will be no shortage of ways for you to catch up with the action. More than 38 hours will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two, all teed up with an Open preview on Wednesday night at 11.20 on BBC Two.

Gary Lineker and Hazel Irvine will be fronting our TV output with expert commentary and analysis from Peter Alliss, Ken Brown, Andrew Cotter, Wayne Grady, Sam Torrance and Mark James. Our regular on-course team of Paul Eales, Maureen Madill and Phil Parkin will be treading the fairways, with Shane O'Donoghue reporting from the driving range. The action gets underway at 0900 on Thursday morning on BBC Two and big names out early include Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Harrington, Ian Poulter, Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie.

There will also be comprehensive coverage provided on BBC interactive, via the red button, where viewers will be able to access a live leaderboard, keep up to date with all the latest Open news with interviews and comment, as well as the option to watch holes 16, 17 and 18 as players reach the climax of their rounds. Following live coverage, a highlights loop will run throughout the night and golf fans can also follow all the action online at bbc.co.uk/golf.

In anticipation for the 2008 Open all but two of Royal Birkdale's holes have been altered. The course is only 155 yards longer than it was when the course last hosted the event ten years ago, but the focus has been on tightening up the holes. This has been achieved by the addition of 20 new bunkers and significant mounding on seven greens. But the most significant change is undoubtedly the introduction of a severely undulating green on the 572-yard par 5 17th.

Our technical spec has also been 'tweaked' since 1998. This year we will be using 62 cameras to provide the host coverage including a tethered blimp, a 72m hoist, six radio cameras, two jibs and a Segway. With over 100 miles of cable being used our riggers have been at work for several weeks. The main TV compound is the size of two football pitches, accommodating broadcasters from around the world, using 1.2 megawatts of power, enough to run an entire village.

John Inverdale and Mark Pougatch will present Radio 5 Live listeners with more coverage of the Open than ever before. Iain Carter heads up the commentary team along with Andrew Coltart, Bernard Gallagher, Jay Townsend and Mark Roe. 5 Live Breakfast will come from the course on Thursday and Friday and listen out for a special preview show this Wednesday when Russell Fuller will host a panel of big names from the world of golf.

We are always grateful to receive your feedback and I will be particularly keen to hear your thoughts on some of our new graphics and technology which will give us unique shot data, ball flight information as well as the ability to locate ball positions over real aerial footage.

I hope you enjoy the coverage.

I've answered the most frequently asked questions below.

Tim's contribution has been impressive. We have been really pleased with how he's taken to what is a brand new discipline for him.

Obviously he has had a sore throat which prevented him from commentating on Andy Murray's match yesterday, but he'll be back for the semis on Friday.

He has taken to the commentary box environment very well and he gets on fantastically with the other commentators.

He has had to get used to working with the likes of John McEnroe and their style of commentating. We feel his insight and knowledge of the game has added immense value to our coverage.

Q. Where is Jimmy Connors this year?

Jimmy is no longer working as Andy Roddick's coach so his plans are a bit different from previous years as he wasn't coming over here to fulfil his obligations. For that main reason we weren't able to get Jimmy on our team this year.

Q. Why do commentators talk over play so much?

It's probably the largest complaint we get. It is certainly something we try to avoid.

We have fairly strict rules and guidelines that commentators shouldn't talk over the umpire, they should give nice clean ins and outs at the start and end of games and also just not overtalk.

We tend to ask commentators to pause over at least one or two points a game to let the atmosphere and images speak for themselves.

Q. Could you explain why you switch matches from BBC One to BBC Two and vice-versa without warning?

It's a fair complaint. What we are trying to achieve when we do this is bring the climax of a high profile match such as Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal, to the widest possible audience.

Clearly it does affect people's video recordings and that can be annoying, but with the advent of iPlayer and other online initiatives, where you can review matches in full, I think it will be become less of a problem in years to come.

We do recognise that it is a irritant to some people.

Q. Who is the man that is always sat in the Players' Box with the beard and the hat?

That is David Spearing who is the honorary steward for the Players' Box.

Q. Why are the highlights on at the earlier time of 2000 BST?

We are trying to provide the best possible schedule for Wimbledon fans.

Audience research suggests there is a real appetite for people coming in from work wanting to join our coverage of the Championships.

We've therefore extended the daily BBC Two schedule so that it runs from 1800 to 2100 BST.

We want to make this programme as strong and consistent as possible and include all the best action of the day, so we are devoting the final hour to a full round-up of 'Today at Wimbledon'.

Looking back at previous years we have found that our live coverage of Centre Court and Number One court is often finished by 2000 - weather permitting!

However, on occasions we appreciate significant live play may run past 2000, so we do have provision for running a later highlights programme at 2320 if we are not able to bring viewers a highlights programme at the billed time.

Live tennis is always available via BBCi's interactive service when play is happening on one of the televised courts.

So with the five separate streams coming from Wimbledon, streamed live coverage and on demand highlights at bbc.co.uk/wimbledon, and our programming on BBC One and BBC Two we do offer our viewers an enormous choice.

Q. Why do you come off games on your interactive service while they are midway through?

It's inevitable in the day-to-day decisions we make regarding the transmission from Wimbledon that we won't please everyone!

If we choose to overrun our pre-arranged transmission schedule to stay with a match we upset the non-sport audience and similarly if we cut away at a crucial point we upset our tennis fans.

It's often a close judgement call on the day. We will try to go with what we believe the majority of our audience would want.

Lots of factors affect our decisions, it depends who is on court, when the match will finish, if it will finish that night etc and also the billed programmes that would be replaced or delayed.

We hope you enjoy the rest of our coverage - here's hoping for two great finals.

Having never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final it will be a tough ask but he is undoubtedly one of just a handful of players who are capable of lifting the trophy and more importantly he believes he can win.

Having equalled Borg's record of four Paris titles, Spain's Rafael Nadal went toe-to-toe with Serbia's Novak Djokavic in the Artois final and, in one of the most stunning grass court matches I have ever seen, laid claim that this could just be his year at the All England Club.

With the world's top three in such rich form the destiny of the men's title is hard to predict. By winning in Halle last week Federer has now won 59 consecutive matches on grass.

Here's a prediction for you, how about Serbia taking the men's and women's titles?

With Novak Djokavic, number three seed, and compatriots Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, seeded one and two on the women's side, the country that trains its players in empty swimming pools has become a real power nation in world tennis.

The Russians, meanwhile, have five women in the top 10 and you should never write off Venus and Serena Williams, the former out to defend her title. Watch out for a special feature that we are doing on Venus' recent book which shows her in many stunning photographic poses.

Our cameras have been busy all this week, following players, capturing images and interviews which will hopefully bring you closer to these sporting superstars. Tim Henman, our latest signing to the BBC team, has done an in-depth one-on-one with Andy Murray which you will be able to catch up with across all of our platforms.

We have been to Richard Branson's party for the women's tour at the Kensington Roof Gardens - always a glamorous affair - and our 'Queen of Wimbledon', Sue Barker, has been reflecting on all things tennis with Bjorn Borg, whom Gerald Scarfe has drawn in a series of portraits that capture all the champions from Borg to Federer. You'll get a chance to see these pictures in the second week of our coverage.

This year will be an historic one for our TV coverage, largely because it will almost certainly see the end of the 'standby'!

From 2009 the Centre Court will have its sliding roof in place and it will be tennis all the way. So savour those extended chats with McEnroe and Becker, Austin and Cash, and also watch out for a compelling documentary that we will run on Andrea Jaeger, the former pony-tailed teenager, who lost to Navratilova in the final 25 years ago tells the truly amazing story of why she lost that match and how she has become a nun caring for terminally ill children.

Whatever the stories, whenever the action, there'll be no excuse to miss out as Wimbledon will dominate all of the BBC's platforms for the next two weeks.

Network coverage, hosted by Sue Barker, will begin from 1200 (British Summer Time) right through to our evening highlights show with John Inverdale at 2000. If it's a specific match you're after and it's not within our main coverage, you can press your red button and go interactive where there will be a choice of up to five live matches. A digital text service will also be available with news and score updates.

As host broadcaster the BBC provides pictures and commentary from a total of nine courts that is broadcast to over 185 countries. Last year over 10,000 hours of action was broadcast globally.

For the third year Centre Court and Court One will be broadcast in High Definition and you will be able to watch simulcast coverage of our network output on the BBC HD Channel. Once off air with our live BBC Two programming you will be able to continue watching the live action on the HD Channel as well as recordings of key matches right up to midnight.

No need to miss out if you're in the office as live action, as well as on-demand highlights, will be streamed online via bbc.co.uk/tennis. Here you can keep up to date with all the latest news, views and comment as well as watching behind the scenes features that will run on the site.

Missed all that? Fear not, the ever popular BBC iPlayer will allow you to catch up with the best of the action for up to seven days.

If you're on the move, register for our mobile phone service. By texting TENNIS to 81010 you will receive a link to our site where you will get all the latest Wimbledon news as well as video master classes. It costs 10 to 15p to text the BBC.

Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra will be offering its usual excellent coverage of the championships. Mark Pougatch, Clare Balding and Simon Mayo will anchor proceedings with Clare becoming the first female lead commentator on radio at Wimbledon. Tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend is also part of the team and will be joined by new signing Jana Novotna along with regulars Michael Stich, Pat Cash, Jeff Tarango, Todd Woodbridge, Annabel Croft and Judy Murray.

Multiplatform content and interactivity is a key part of the 5 Live story. John McEnroe's 6-love-6 phone-in on Tuesday nights will be available to watch via BBC Interactive under the red button.

Cash and Tarango's podcasts will provide the definitive guide to the big stories of the day and photos from around SW19 will be posted on the BBC Wimbledon Flickr group where users can add their own pictures.

There will also be additional daily video content focused around 5 Live's coverage including discussions with top names on the 606 forum and regular updates on the 5 Live twitter.

So plenty on offer from 23 June. I hope you enjoy our new titles, and studio set, and 2008 will see the return of our high motion camera which offers those stunning super-slow motion images that even the players find insightful and mesmerising.

As the BBC celebrates the signing of a new contract to broadcast the Championships up to 2014, enjoy this year's output and please do feedback any comments, good and bad.

Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held every year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The BBC has broadcast the Masters since 1986 and, as with many of our other major events, our current offering doesn’t just stop at our network coverage. We regularly receive queries about why we don’t show more from the four tournament days. The simple answer is that we transmit every single second that is permitted by Augusta National and the host broadcasters CBS, who only in recent years have been allowed to show all 18 holes of the final round.

How to watch? On this website or just press your red button and go interactive on Wednesday evening at 2000 BST and enjoy two hours that will really get you in the mood. There’s bound to be some holes in one but don’t hope for a British victor as no winner of the Par 3 contest has gone on to win the Masters in the same year!

Just an hour or so later, at 2320 BST on BBC Two, Gary Lineker will be reliving last year’s win by Zach Johnson as well as previewing this year's championship. Gary will be joined over the following four days by our regular commentary team of Peter Alliss, Ken Brown, Sam Torrance and Wayne Grady with Hazel Irvine grabbing interviews under the famous old oak tree.

So let the network action begin… Well, not quite, we’ve got a little extra treat for you! For those with broadband just go to bbc.co.uk/golf or, if you have digital television, just press the red button, and from around 1530 BST on Thursday and Friday (bit later at the weekend) you can enjoy live action from Amen Corner, continuous coverage of all players passing through holes 11, 12 and 13. Almost every Masters participant has been touched by this trio of challenging, picturesque, beautiful holes and it’s fitting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the naming of this infamous stretch of the course.

Viewers always comment on the familiarity of the course and you will be hard pushed to identify the changes to holes 1, 7, 9 and 11. There are minor refinements every year at Augusta but I’m told that the extension of azalea beds and some fine spring weather will mean that the course will be looking at its best. The one thing that always strikes me when we are out and about filming Ken’s ‘on the course’ pieces is the almost blinding white feldspar sand that fills the expansive bunkers. You can be sure Browny will be conjuring up some inspirational insights for our coverage. And, by the way, do remember that all four days' coverage will be simulcast on our HD channel. If you missed it last year it is simply stunning! And, if that’s not enough, you can catch up with all the action on our BBC iPlayer.

And finally, the players; The Masters has the smallest field of the major championships at around ninety. It is an invitational event, but nowadays invitations are largely issued on an automatic basis to players who meet published criteria and as the top 50 in the official world rankings qualify, none of the leading players should miss out. Unfortunately that doesn’t include Colin Montgomerie who, at 75 in the world, will miss out playing at Augusta for only the second time in 17 years. Masters rookie, Nick Dougherty, will be in the hunt for the Green Jacket with home support also for Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, and Lee Westwood. Former winners Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle (20 years ago) will boost the British contingent. And who would rule out Ireland’s recent Open champion Padraig Harrington?

Whilst we would all like to see a repeat of the 80s and 90s with European winners galore, recent results have seen American players dominate at Augusta. Tiger is clearly in rampant form but my money will be on South African Retief Goosen who often performs well at the Masters and, like Tiger, is in fine form.

For all the latest news, views and gossip keep an eye on our website - we’ll be firing back interviews and previews that will be running across all of our platforms. And if you are out and about remember there is comprehensive live coverage of the Masters on Radio 5 Live. However you receive it, I hope you enjoy every minute right up to the champion slipping on the Green Jacket.

Thursday 11 October
1015-1215 BBC Interactive
1300-1715 BBC Two

Friday 12 October
1030-1240 BBC Interactive
1330-1715 BBC Two

Saturday 13 October
1000-1230 BBC Interactive
1300-1430 BBC One
1430-1730 BBC Two

Sunday 14 October
1000-1200 BBC Interactive
1210-1700 BBC Two

For those who are unfamiliar with the format, the field of 16 players compete in 36-hole elimination matchplay rounds. I won’t bore you with the qualification criteria, suffice it to say that it is a combination of the top players who have performed best over the four majors and the leading players in the European Tour rankings as well as defending champion, England’s Paul Casey.

Be sure to press that red button on Thursday at 1015 BST as the draw has thrown up a real heavyweight clash between six-times champion Ernie Els and eight time European number one Colin Montgomerie. Els is seeded two, while Montie is seeded 15th and both have tremendous records on the West Course. Peter Alliss has already identified his pick of the matches as a clash of the US Champions passed and present, Retief Goosen of South Africa takes on this year’s winner Angel Cabrera….a nice little pre-cursor to Rugby World Cup Semi Final! Home hope, and number 5 seed, Justin Rose, will look to carry his fine form from last weekend’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in to a clash with in-form American Hunter Mahan.

First round draw (Seedings in brackets)
(1) Paul Casey (Eng) v (16) Jerry Kelly (US) 0815 and 1245
(8) Retief Goosen (SA) v (9) Angel Cabrera (Arg) 0827 and 1257
(5) Justin Rose (Eng) v (12) Hunter Mahan (US) 0839 and 1309
(4) Rory Sabbatini (SA) v (13) Soren Hansen (Den) 0851 and 1321
(3) Padraig Harrington (Ire) v (14) Anders Hansen (Den) 0903 and 1333
(6) Henrik Stenson (Swe) v (11) Woody Austin (US) 0915 and 1345
(7) Niclas Fasth (Swe) v (10) Andres Romero (Arg) 0927 and 1357
(2) Ernie Els (SA) v (15) Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 0939 and 1409

The World Match Play is a thrilling climax to BBC Television’s golfing year and the quality of the tournament is endorsed by the fact that in its 43-year history, 18 of the 23 players who have claimed the title have won 67 major championships. This year’s Open champion, Padraig Harrington could add to that list, he plays Denmark’s Anders Hansen. But sadly Tiger Woods won’t as he opts to spend more time with his new baby daughter Sam Alexis. One Sam who will be with us is Mr Torrance, he joins peter Alliss and Ken Brown in the commentary box whilst our on course team consists of Paul Eales, Maureen Madill and Andrew Cotter. Hazel Irvine presents the coverage.

I hope you will enjoy some of our trips down memory lane with our ‘Matchplay Duels’, a chance to recall some of the memorable encounters that have enthralled us down the years. It would be great to hear your favourites, maybe Player v Nicklaus in the '66 final, or perhaps O’Meara v Woods in '98. My personal favourite was the 1989 final when Nick Faldo beat Ian Woosnam in a low scoring and pulsating match where the only time Faldo led was when he won on the last hole with an eagle three from 20 feet; his back-nine score of 30 shots has never been bettered.

As well as our Matchplay Duels watch out for our ‘Matchplay Jewels’, Ken Brown will re-live a feast of fist pumping chip-ins, hole-in-ones, eagles and albatrosses that made this event one of the absolute favourites for players and crowds alike.

So forget your footy and rugga for a while, or perhaps as a nice little aperitif, and join us on Thursday for the start of our four days of live coverage.

As if three World Cups were not enough for you, this week BBC Sport will be bringing you two other outstanding sporting events as Great Britain take on Croatia in the crucial Davis Cup World Group play-off tie at Wimbledon and Europe’s best golfers battle it out over The Brabazon course at The Belfry for the British Masters title, top-class tennis and golf from two of the most famous sporting venues in the world.

This is the first time since 1999 that the event has been held in September. It had been held in May in recent years but has moved to avoid a clash with the PGA Tour’s prestigious Players' Championship at Sawgrass.

Last year our cameras saw Sweden’s Johan Edfors victorious win and he’s out to defend his title against a whole gang of Europe’s leading golfers. Among the big names in the field are Ryder Cup heroes Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, David Howell, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, who comes off the back of shooting a sensational 61 in Germany last week. European stalwarts Miguel Angel Jiminéz, Michael Campbell, Niclas Fasth and Thomas Bjorn, plus South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Richard Sterne, give it an international flavour.

Those of you who tuned in for our Walker Cup coverage two weeks ago will be excited to hear that Northern Ireland’s teenage sensation, Rory McIlroy, will make this his first professional tournament and will be hoping for the sort of form that saw him win the leading amateur prize at this year’s Open Championship. Ironically, it is a former British amateur champion who joins our commentary team at The Belfry: Welshman Philip Parkin was The ‘Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year’ in 1984 and was a regular on The European Tour in the 80’s and 90’s. He joins our regular on-course team of Paul Eales and Maureen Madill. Peter Alliss, who co-designed The Brabazon course, will - as ever - hold the fort along with Ken Brown and Andrew Cotter in the commentary box. Hazel Irvine will be presenting the four days but not before she has teamed up with Paul Casey in Wednesday’s pro-am.

(Having just broken the news to Hazel that she is due to play with Paul she has since bombed up the M40 to The Belfry and to date has hit 300 balls on the range. I’m sure she will update you on how the BBC Sport team gets on with the current World Match Play champion! Other names in the pro-am include Ronan Keating, Jamie Redknapp and James Nesbitt.)

We often get very positive feedback from you about our ‘guest’ commentators, players who have finished their morning rounds and come and spend an hour or so giving us a unique insight in to the course, conditions, players and gossip. We have lined up two or three big names for Thursday and Friday, so tune in to see whose arm we’ve twisted. It will be particularly interesting to hear what the players make of the redesigned sixth hole. With recent changes to the third hole, the front nine is now a real challenge and balances nicely with the back nine with its infamous watery 10th and 18th.

As ever Ken Brown will preview many of these challenges as well as reflecting on how The Belfry has become environmentally friendly. In the woods, multiple bird and bat boxes have been installed and no water is drawn from the mains supply to irrigate the resort's three golf courses. Waste water is used from the hotel instead… I’m sure Peter will have a line on that!

Ken has also been busy creating animations on real helicopter fly-over of the holes. We have had mixed feedback on our virtual reality hole descriptions and this half-way house of real images with telestration will hopefully prove popular. Do let us know.

And, finally, if you won’t be glued to the box on all four days (how dare you!), then you might be interested to know that Friday at The Belfry is ‘Ladies Day’. The organisers have designated that on Friday 21 September the first 50 ladies to arrive will get free entry.

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Transmission Times

THURSDAY 20 September, 1100–1300 BBCi; 1330–1800 BBC TWO

FRIDAY 21 September, 1100–1300 BBCi; 1400–1800 BBC TWO

SATURDAY 22 September, 1500–1830, BBC TWO

SUNDAY 23 September, 1400–1800, BBC TWO

Time to step aside chaps, this week all the attention turns to the Ricoh Women’s British Open (WBO), and for a number of very good reasons. It’s not just the quality of play nor the characters involved that make this year’s championship a must watch, it’s the historic element of being the first championship for women professionals to be played at the "Home of Golf"….St Andrews - scene of 26 Open championships, and numerous other professional men’s tournaments.

Many of you will have been with us over recent years and seen what great champions this event has thrown up - Karrie Webb, Sherri Steinhauer and Annika Sorenstam to name a few. The event has always been played at outstanding courses, such as Royal Lytham, Royal Birkdale, Turnberry and Sunningdale. But playing over the famous Old Course at St Andrews, which embodies so much of the long history of golf, will be both extra special and fitting for the only women’s major to be played outside the United States.

When covering golf, there are three essential elements that go in to making a successful televised event. In St Andrews and a world-class field you already have two, add the 100,000 expected spectators and the ingredients are set for what should be a memorable occasion….who knows, we might even get some sunshine!

Like at The Open, the BBC acts as the host broadcaster, transmitting all four days' coverage to millions around the world and we work very closely with our American (ABC) and Japanese (TV Asahi) colleagues on site.

Many of you asked during The Open just how much influence we have over the “pairings”. Like at Carnoustie the three major broadcasters mentioned above make their requests known but ultimately it will be the organisers who have the final say.

This year’s WBO boasts the most international field of any women’s golf event and you will be sure to be watching the likes of Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Se Ri Pak and Ai Miyazato, as well as home favourites such as Catriona Matthew, Becky Morgan, Rebecca Hudson and former champions Laura Davies and Karen Stupples - who turned out to be a very accomplished commentator for Radio Five Live at The Open.

Covering a women’s event really is no different from a men’s but it would be naïve to think that we could swan in with our usual commentary team in its normal configuration. Our lead commentators, Peter Alliss and Ken Brown, simply do not work on the women’s tour week in, week out but I know both are extremely impressed and engaged when they work on the WBO.

In Maureen Madill and Beverly Lewis we have two of the most experienced commentators in the game, and their in-depth knowledge for women’s golf will perfectly compliment the team, along with Andrew Cotter. And everything is held together by the incomparable Hazel Irvine….no mean player herself, you know!

The Old Course has a unique layout and originally consisted of 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back. In 1764 it was decided that some holes were too short and it was reduced to 18, creating what was to become the standard round of golf throughout the world. With 14 of the greens being shared, i.e, two holes cut on seven of the large greens, this visually throws up both challenges and benefits.

It is often very difficult to put our camera rostrums directly behind a green as players coming the other way would be hitting over the tower. This means that we are often not on the ideal line to track a ball in from 200 yards away and it’s testament to our skilled camera operators that they rarely miss a ball. The benefits are that with it being such a narrow course we can often double up on rostrums which reduces the amount of infrastructure on the course. With the weather set fair, we are hoping for some stunning pictures.

It would be absolutely wrong to focus to heavily on the glamour side of the women’s game but at the same time it’s an element that the sport and its players are keen to promote. So get familiar with the names of Morgan Pressel (she won her first major this year), Natalie Gulbis (nicknamed “The Anna Kournikova of golf”), Paula Creamer (nicknamed “Pink Panther” because everything she owns is pink) and the 17-year-old sensation Wie, who is clearly such a wonderful talent but only last week broke par for the first time in 24 attempts.

So with record-breaking prize money of over £1m on offer, get set for an historic BWO. Our coverage gets underway on Thursday, and we’ll be broadcasting over 15 hours of golf. Enjoy!

TV TIMES

Thurs 2 Aug
1300-1715 (BBC TWO)

Fri 3 Aug
1330-1715 (BBC TWO)

Sat 4 Aug
1330-1715 (BBC ONE)

Sun 5 Aug
1420-1740 (BBC TWO)

As a commentator, Ken is peerless, as a master of short cuts...where do I start? After an hour’s driving north we came across an accident. “Wouldn’t bother, mate,” quipped the chirpy policeman. We turned around and headed back the same way we had came and promptly joined a five mile queue of traffic that had itself poured out from the Scottish Open.

Two-and-a-half hours after leaving the Loch Lomond course we passed that very same secret exit from where we had so sneakily emerged, “Here we go,” said Ken. “Now we’re really motoring!”

Running out of petrol is never much fun, certainly not on a Sunday night, and certainly not when you're miles from anywhere. A friendly local, in his broadest Scottish accent, described the route to a nearby petrol station and then helpfully added that it closed early at weekends.

When eventually we arrived at Carnoustie we had predicted 22 different Open champions and demolished six packets of crisps. “I thought you had the key,” said Ken, as we stumbled up the drive of our rented house. An hour later our superhero floor manager, Chris White, appeared with a spare and 2.30am we hit the sack.

Open week is without doubt the most challenging outside broadcast that we stage. It’s not so much the 70 cameras, 100 miles of cable, 11 hoists, our 450 strong team, the 40 hours of coverage we’ll provide or even the blimp. It’s more that, for most of us, we have come off the back of another major golf event and a certain tennis tournament in SW19.

Funnily enough fatigue doesn’t seem to matter, and in spite of torrential downpours as we head for the course on Monday morning, spirits are high. Months of effort have gone in to planning for the 136th Open championship, and the Carnoustie course – the longest in Open history – is going to be a tough but fair challenge.

My first meeting is with the CEO of the R&A, Peter Dawson. We discuss many issues surrounding the week and Peter gives us a glimpse of the pairings and tee times. As we are on air on Thursday at 9am, the 9.09am start for Messrs Woods, Lawrie and Rose makes for good reading.

We will be centring our morning coverage round this group, with Tiger going for his third Open championship in a row, Rose, in great form, challenging for his first major and Lawrie being not only the last person to win The Open when it was staged here in 1999, but also the last European to win a major.

That year we televised one of the most enthralling and controversial tournaments in Open history. Treacherous rough, a winning total of +6, a play-off and a Frenchman going doolally. Jean Van de Velde could have taken a double bogey at the final hole to win, well...the rest is history. Watch out for an exclusive interview that we filmed with Jean in the South of France on Monday, which will be aired in our preview show on Wednesday night (11.20pm, BBC TWO).

So what has changed so far as televising the event since 1999? In terms of scale everything has increased in size, and innovative additions such as the blimp and Segway cameras (the one with the cameraman on wheels) have all added in bringing The Open experience to the viewer.

We will also again be operating our ‘trackman’ system, a device that can measure the club head speed and the carry of the ball, as well as displaying a precise graphical representation of its flight. Our virtual animations of the holes and GPS positioning capabilities will ensure that nothing will be missed when explaining the challenges faced by a player. We will also be continuing with ‘Swing-master’, a very popular addition to our coverage where our resident teaching pro, Andrew Nicholson, demystifies and analyses players’ swings and techniques.

Some things, however, remain reassuringly the same, and I am delighted to say that Peter Alliss is in tip top form going in to the week. Alongside him in the commentray box will be Ken Brown, Wayne Grady, Sam Torrance and Mark James.

Out on the course will be Paul Eales, Maureen Madill, Andrew Cotter and debutant Gary Evans, who came so close to winning The Open at Muirfield in 2002. Holding it all together, of course, will be Gary Lineker. And if you miss any live action you can catch up with the best of the day's play in our highlights show with Hazel Irvine on BBC TWO, or via the red button (full details below).

As ever, we will be delighted to hear your feedback on our golf coverage but in the mean time hope that you enjoy what promises to be an enthralling Open championship.

TELEVISION COVERAGE

Weds 18 July
2320-2350 - Open preview (BBC TWO)

Thurs 19 July
0900-1900 - Live coverage (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
1915-2000 - Highlights (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
BBCi / red button - 0900-1900 (live); 1945-0845 (highlights)

Fri 20 July
0900-1900 - Live coverage (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
1915-2000 - Highlights (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
BBCi / red button - 0900-1900 (live); 1945-0845 (highlights)

Sat 21 July
1000-1210 - Live coverage (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
1210-1715 - Live coverage (BBC ONE, BBC Sport website)
1715-1930 - Live coverage (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
2250-2350 - Highlights (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
BBCi / red button - 0900-1900 (live); 1945-0845 (highlights)

Sun 22 July
1100-1430 - Live coverage (BBC TWO, BBC Sport website)
1430-1900 - Live coverage (BBC ONE, BBC Sport website)
BBCi / red button - 1945-0000 (highlights)

RADIO FIVE LIVE

The radio team will be lead by John Inverdale and Mark Pougatch, with commentary from John Murray, Iain Carter, Tony Adamson, Alistair Bruce-Ball and Russell Fuller. Expert analysis will provided by former Ryder cup captain Bernard Gallacher, current PGA Tour Pro Andrew Coltart, former pros Mark Roe, Roger Chapman and Andrew Murray, plus former Women's Open champion Karen Stupples

Weds 18 July
1900-2200 – Mark Pougatch presents a preview of The Open from Carnousite

Thurs 19 July
0600-0900 – Nicky Campbell is live at Carnoustie for Five Live Breakfast
0900-1900 – John Inverdale presents live coverage of the opening day

Fri 20 July
0600-0900 – Nicky Campbell is live at Carnoustie for Five Live Breakfast
0900-1900 – John Inverdale presents live coverage of the second day

Sat 21 July
1200-1900 - John Inverdale presents live coverage of the third day

Sun 22 July
1300-1900 John Inverdale presents live coverage of the final day

BBC SPORT WEBSITE

Watch live coverage (UK users only - full details above), daily highlights package, view a fixed camera feed from Holes 16, 17, 18 and listen to Radio Five Live's coverage.

Live text coverage of all four days, featuring snippets from Matt Slater and Rob Hodgetts on the course and your chance to contribute via 606 and texts (but not texts from the course ,where mobiles are banned!). Matt and Rob's Open diary, daily reports, comment pieces, quotes of the day, photos of the day.

Plus live automated stats, including the latest leaderboard.

TEXT SERVICES

Ceefax will have a special section, with the index on page 490. There will be a live leaderboard plus updated positions from selected players, reports and quotes, full clubhouse scores and tee-off times.

BBCi text (under your red button) will provide a similar service, with the index on page 481.

Did the BBC have any say as to whether there would be play on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon?

Decisions about extra day’s play are purely down to the discretion of the club and the decision not to play on Sunday was theirs and theirs alone.

In hindsight, if they had known Sunday was going to be such a pleasant day and has they realised how bad the weather was going to be in the second week they may well have arrived at a different decision.

The weather information they had on Friday suggested no play was likely to take place on Sunday, so that was the main reason why they opted to leave it as a rest day. Also they were well up with play on the Friday in regards to the draw and only slightly behind on the Saturday, so they had no real concerns or requirement for an extra day’s play.

I certainly haven’t worked on a Wimbledon that’s been as bad as this. Speaking to some of the commentators, they can recall some pretty bad years but the worst I can remember is in 2001, where we went into a third week and played the men’s final between Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Rafter on a Monday.

It turned out to be an absolute classic, we got a tremendous crowd on Centre Court from London based Croatian and Australian fans and it was probably one of the most colourful finals in history.

Did you have a contingency plan for so much rain? Are you prepared to continue into next week?

We always plan for the worst. Wimbledon lasts for two weeks so we obviously don’t plan in absolute detail what is going to happen on every day if it rains, but we certainly go into the first couple of days prepared for inclement weather.

Based on that we make relevant standbys available, be it features or anniversary material like the package we had to commemorate 30 years since Virginia Wade won the Ladies’ Singles and 20 years since Pat Cash won the men’s title.

We have worked through a number of contingencies if required to take our coverage into a third week. These range from covering men’s and Ladies’ singles finals right through to the junior finals. If necessary we are able to maintain our output right up till Wednesday.

Why are you using outdoor heaters on 'Today at Wimbledon?' Shouldn't the BBC be leading the way in saving energy?

The BBC is very green and it’s always our policy to be environmentally friendly. By staging the highlights show outdoors we are actually managing to save quite a bit of energy by not being in the studio, which requires a lot of lighting. So by not using the studio we are being even more environmentally friendly.

Why haven't you shown more doubles?

We have showed a certain number of doubles matches this year, but not many on BBC ONE or TWO. Because we are showing the highlights at 2000 BST this has taken the slot where we traditionally showed coverage of the majority of our doubles courage. However, on BBC Interactive we are screening lots of doubles action so just hit the red button.

I'm sick of certain players grunting and shrieking their way through games. Is there anyway you can make them quiet?

The Venus Williams v Maria Sharapova match really highlighted the problem of grunting in the women’s game.

There is nothing the BBC can do other than reducing the levels of the effects on the court.

It’s a fine balance, because obviously you want to maintain the level of crowd noise and atmosphere around the court as well as hearing the impact of the ball hitting the racquet.

If you reduce these levels too much then there is a danger of neutralising the overall commitment of the players.

So whilst it is disturbing and it can become quite relentless, it is an integral part of the game and I think people get used to it to a degree - but we do recognise that it is annoying for a lot of viewers.

But we don’t think that we can go to the lengths that one viewer suggested and bleep out all of the grunts!

Are you pleased with how Greg Rusedski has done in the commentary box?

Greg’s had a fantastic debut for the BBC and we are delighted that we have managed to get him on board.

He has been a fantastic team player for us and is a great observer of the game. His pedigree as a player is really showing through with his observations.

Whilst he is fresh to the world of commentary it has been a stunning debut and we just hope for bigger and better things for Greg going forwards.

Were the BBC commentary team biased towards Serena Williams in her match with Daniele Hantuchova?

We’ve had a few complaints about the way Serena Williams was treated in the wake of gamesmanship claims after her injury and toilet break incident during her match with Daniele Hantuchova.

We’ve had comments both ways, some saying that the BBC was too harsh towards her or that the BBC was too lenient, both on television and on the radio.

Like with most of these complaints we have hopefully reflected both side’s of the story and by using people like John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova to put across the players’ point of view we are getting a real players’ insight into the situation.

Serena is a unique case and history has shown that she can be prone to very emotive outbursts on court. This can be great at times as people complain that we are lacking characters in the game and I think Serena brings a lot of extravagance to tennis and that can only be a good thing.

If there are any claims of gamesmanship etc then hopefully we have explored those issues and people can make their own mind about it.

Who is the man in the hat with the goatee beard who always sits in the Players’ Box? Do you know who he is?

We have had hundreds of emails about the man in the hat with a goatee beard who sits in the Players’ box.

His name is David Spearing and it is his 34th year of being at the Championships. He lives in Abu Dhabi for the majority of the year before coming over to take up his position in the box. His job is to make sure everybody is in the right place and assists the players’ representatives.

Some of your commentary team talk too much. Do you have guidelines as to how they should operate?
It’s certainly our policy to ask our commentators not to over-talk. There is a tendency, particularly from overseas broadcasters with a different style from ours, to fill every second with chat.

We have a fairly straight discipline of not talking over the umpires, about letting the pictures and the atmosphere breathe in a way that doesn’t happen with broadcasters around the world.

How much influence does the BBC have on the order of play each day?
All broadcasters can put their requests for when they would like a match to be played via official systems at the club and those are then passed on to the referee's office.

Clearly as host broadcaster, the BBC would like to feel we have a good degree of influence on the order of play. But at the end of the day it is simply a request we put in. There are so many other factors that the order of play committee need to take into account.

Why do you leave matches before their conclusion to go to other matches?
It’s always a very difficult decision. It is great that we often have two channels running at the same time, which means that we can leave matches on air whilst other good matches are coming up. Also 80% of the country have access to BBCi on the red button so we can switch a match to Interactive and people can carrying on viewing it there.

It’s an editorial decision that we have to weigh up and it’s not always straightforward. We understand that people can feel cheated when they have watched a match for a long time, but options are always available to them to carry on viewing the match of their choice.

Why is Wimbledon on so much and on two channels simultaneously?
This is probably the biggest complaint that we get. Wimbledon is the biggest annual sports event we broadcast. For two weeks there is tremendous interest from around the world and the UK and we feel, and the channel controllers feel, that it deserves the sort of air time that it gets. The overlap is not that extensive as it is only for perhaps a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Why do you show so many / few Brits?
The fact that we get an equal amount of complaints about not enough action of British players and showing too much of British players. Hopefully means that we get the coverage just about right.

Certainly early on in the tournament the lesser known Brits tend to play on courts where we have only a few cameras covering the action, where as the bigger names and higher seeds are on the main show courts where coverage is much more comprehensive.

If we always showed the Brits on those minor courts it would not make for such good quality television. Clearly if there is an editorial reason to show a British player then we would go across to it and again there is always our interactive service to back it up.

Why do you always focus on the same few fans in the crowd?
There tends to be a group of fans during a game who get animated and the cameramen focus on them to provide good cutaways. I think it is a mistake to show them too much or too often as it becomes repetitive. I think we need to work harder at getting alternative shots and images of the atmosphere, so I think that’s a fair complaint.

Did you try and get Andy Murray on as a commentator?
We did not try and get Andy Murray on as a commentator as it is simply not on the agenda for him at the moment. He wishes to get fit and has no desire at this stage to do any commentary. Andy has been brilliant doing interviews for the BBC and we have a great relationship with him, but commentary is not for him at the moment.

Why does Tim Henman get so much exposure on TV and on Centre Court when he has such a low ranking?
Tim Henman is a unique case. If it purely went by his ranking, his matches would not be on Centre Court, but I think his pedigree at Wimbledon merits such reward. We’ve seen how competitive he remains and the type and nature of audience he can get, not just on Centre Court but on TV, dictates that he deserves to be there.

If he had progressed further then maybe the officials would not have been able to have kept him on Centre so it would have been an interesting call.

From its humble beginnings in 1877 Wimbledon has grown to become one of the world’s greatest international sporting occasions, attended annually by some half a million fans, broadcast to over 175 territories with a potential reach of over 600 million viewers. The BBC acts as the host broadcaster for the 13 days of competition televising a total of nine courts and for the second year running both Centre and No 1 courts will be broadcast in High Definition (HD).

Coverage will be available on a dedicated BBC HD channel via the Sky Electronic Programme guide with a total of 12 hours per day with the best live and highlights play from the two main show courts between 1255 and 0100.

Online this year, there will be all sorts of ways to follow and enjoy the action.

Our website will broadcast ALL that live video coverage from the show courts for UK users, with daily highlights and hopefully a few extra treats, as well as the Five Live & Five Live Sports Extra coverage available worldwide, along with a Pat Cash podcast.

Five Live will be offering its usual unique blend of commentary and conversation with Gabby Logan joining Simon Mayo and Clare Balding presenting live reports across the Championships, along with a host of top name pundits and roving reporters.

Also on the website, our journalists at Wimbledon will keep you bang up-to-date with the news as it happens, gossip, reaction and photos each day, as well as encouraging you to contribute to our coverage through 606 and with texts, photos, and votes.

We will also, of course, provide the best game-by-game updates on the big matches, plus all the latest scores and results, available thorugh our Wimbledon services on Ceefax (from page 490), Digital Text (page 485) and your mobile phone.

And then in the evenings John McEnroe and Gabby will be hosting ‘Six-Love-Six’ on Five Live, full of lively debate and listener interaction. Highlights will be available on YouTube and digital TV viewers will have the chance to watch Mc as he takes calls, via the red button.

Another controversial tennis star joins the Five Live team, Jeff Tarango. Infamous for his on court outbursts, he will be going around the courts taking on punters in various challenges. If he wins – they get a sticker, “you’ve been Tarangoed”!

And as soon as there is a lengthy rain break Clare Balding, along with a team of former players and experts will host a live Centre Court debate. They will seek to answer questions from the crowd in a special ‘Any Sporting Questions’.

So what else is new for 2007? If you are lucky enough to have tickets to Centre Court take a brolly - the redevelopments mean there is no roof this year ahead of fitting a retractable translucent roof in time for the 2009 Championships from whence there will be continuous live play satisfying TV audiences around the world.

The 2007 championships will be the first to offer men and women equal prize money, each singles champion winning £700,000. That will be sweet music to the BBC’s latest recruit, nine-time women’s singles champion, Martina Navratilova.

Also new to the team will be former US Open finalist, Greg Rusedski who joins our regulars of John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors who will be combining his TV work while coaching The Artois champion, Andy Roddick.

And back this year is Virginia Wade, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her win over Betty Stove in the 1977 Women’s singles final during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Sue Barker was a losing semi-finalist that year and The BBC’s ‘Queen of Wimbledon’ will be presenting all the live TV coverage across the fortnight. John Inverdale will front the nightly highlights programme, ‘Today at Wimbledon’. Britain’s Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd also returns along with regular experts Pat Cash, Michael Stich, Annabel Croft, Peter Fleming and Sam Smith.

Another first at this year’s Championships will be the use of ‘Hawk-Eye’, the official umpiring tool used to assist with contentious line calls. Players will receive three unsuccessful appeals per set plus an additional one during a tie-break. There will be big screens on both Centre and No1 courts to display the decision. As in recent years The BBC will be using the ball tracking system with Jason Goodall giving viewers an in-depth analysis of the intricacies of a player’s game as well as highlighting patterns of play.

BBC English Regions will be providing additional coverage from Wimbledon for our 12 regional TV programmes and 40 local radio stations. There will also be special coverage throughout the fortnight on BBC London 94.9.

The BBC will also be operating big screens in key outdoor locations around the UK offering coverage of this years Wimbledon. They will be in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Rotherham, Bradford, Derby and London’s Canary Wharf. At the screens there will be an interactive tennis game available for the public to play at the screens, plus localised events, virtual tournaments, strawberry sampling and non-alcoholic refreshments.

So pray for sunshine and a fortnight of top action that you can catch just about wherever you are on TV, on radio and online … all on the BBC!

Breaking news….whilst the renamed Artois Championships will undoubtedly miss having Scotland’s world number ten, the tournament will boast five players ranked higher than Murray, including world number two Rafael Nadal.

Fresh from Roland Garros, our cameras and tennis team will relocate to the Queen’s Club in Barons Court to cover seven days of live action, with a total of 50 hours of coverage on BBC TV from 11-17 June.

There will be some exciting additions to watch out for this year, notably for the first time at an ATP event in the UK, the electronic line calling system Hawk-eye will be in operation, with players allowed three line challenges per set, and an additional challenge if the set goes to a tie break. The BBC has used the device for three years and Jason Goodall will continue to give viewers in-depth analysis of the intricacies of a player’s game, highlighting key patterns of play. Keep a special look out for the “dominator” graphic.

Former runner-up, and last year’s semi finalist, Tim Henman is likely to be in action early on in the week, and the top seeds will all be keen to avoid one of the finest grass court exponents to have played the game. He will certainly get no shortage of support from his Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd, who will join Andrew Castle, Peter Fleming and David Mercer in the commentary box.

Right up until the semis and final, play will start at 1230 BST featuring four singles matches. BBCi will cover every ball struck prior to coming on air on BBC TWO and will continue with live tennis once network coverage has finished.

Our comprehensive coverage:

Monday 11
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1330-1715, BBC TWO

Tuesday 12
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1330-1715, BBC TWO

Wednesday 13
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1400-1715, BBC TWO

Thursday 14
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1300-1715, BBC TWO

Friday 15
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1330-1800, BBC TWO

Saturday 16
1200-2000, BBCi, BBC Sport website
1300-1630, BBC ONE, BBC Sport website

Sunday 17
1400-1630, BBC TWO, BBC Sport website

Taken individually, it’s just one win but it is one that could be the key to the Swiss master finally winning the French Open and, who knows, maybe the Grand Slam.

That alone makes this year’s French Open essential viewing for tennis fans - and there'll be uninterrupted coverage via the red button on BBCi starting on Sunday at 10am.

The tournament is a marathon of a five-set matches and forty-shot rallies so we’re prepared for long hours, strained voices and even the strange bits of red grit you get in the media centre sandwiches - we hope you’ll join us for the duration.

One downside for British fans is the absence of Andy Murray due to a wrist injury.

Anyone who has had the privilege of seeing this gifted and intelligent athlete play this year knows Great Britain in general and Scotland in particular has a lot to be excited about. Breaking into the top 10 this year was a huge step – but Wimbledon awaits and the fans are beginning to expect...

Still, even without Andy there’s plenty of mouth-watering action in prospect.

Our coverage at Roland Garros will be led by Barry Davies, Britain’s Davis Cup captain John Lloyd and former British number one Sam Smith.

Along with our colleagues at Radio Five Live and the BBC Sport website we aim to bring you the best live matches, every result and every story that this fantastic tournament produces from the first ball hit every morning until the sun goes down and stops play.

In the women’s championship defending champion Justine Henin must start as favourite despite suffering breathing problems in Miami; Maria Sharapova had her preparations hampered by shoulder surgery whilst Amelie Mauresmo has had to recover from appendicitis - and that’s before she has to deal with her famous nerves in front of the Parisian crowd.

The dark horse in the pack is Serbian Jelena Jankovic; she’s rocketed up the rankings this year and recently won on the red stuff in Rome beating US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.

Who’s your tip for the men’s title? The rapidly improving Novak Djokovic or the flashing Fernando Gonzalez?

But it is hard to look beyond Federer and Nadal - one man hoping to add that missing Grand Slam trophy to his collection, while the other looking to emulate the great Bjorn Borg - the only man to have won three consecutive championships at Roland Garros..(Borg even managed a fourth).

Would you be brave enough to bet against them facing each other again on 10 June?

Coverage is on BBCi throughout the tournament and the men's and women's finals are on BBC ONE and TWO.

BBC ONE and TWO will show no fewer than 18 hours of live action, as well as an extra two hours on Thursday and Friday morning via the red button on BBCi. This additional coverage will focus on the featured groups from the morning play and has proved extremely popular. Our cameras will capture the best of the action from a truly world class international field containing no fewer than seven of the top 15 players in the world rankings, and ten of last year’s successful European Ryder Cup team.

One man who will be seeing the course for the first time in some 20 years is former US PGA champion Wayne Grady. We are delighted that Wayne will be joining our commentary team of Ken, Peter Alliss, Paul Eales, Maureen Madill and Andrew Cotter. Wayne will get the chance of some first hand research when he teams up with BBC’s golf presenter Gary Lineker in Wednesday’s Pro-am. They will play alongside Paul Lawrie, who is one of seven major winners in the field - alongside Els, Goosen, Olazabal, Singh, Campbell and Lyle. Other star names on show at the Pro-am include Hugh Grant, Andriy Shevchenko, Jodie Kidd and Nigel Mansell.

Ever popular with spectators and viewers is former winner Colin Montgomerie, who will looking to claim a record equalling fourth title here, and watch out too for Padraig Harrington. After winning last weekend’s Irish Open he's in line for a one million Euro bonus if he can win back-to-back titles. This duo are sure to face stiff opposition from the likes of Donald, Karlson, Stenson, Westwood and Clarke. Sadly last year's winner David Howell won't be able to defend his title due to injury.

The West Course at Wentworth is one of the most challenging to cover from a TV point of view, mainly due to its heavy tree-lined design. Whilst the majority of cameras are cabled or fibred back to the compound, many of the audio and visual elements are radio linked back to the broadcast trucks. This provides our communications team with more challenges than at any other event.

One additional feature to watch out for in our coverage comes courtesy of Andrew Nicholson, who is the Director of the David Leadbetter Academy at Wynyard Golf Club in the north east of England. Andrew will be operating with the very latest golfing analytical machine called V1 – offering unique insights in to the swings and techniques of some of the best exponents in the game. Golf is often portrayed as very technical and Andrew will aim demystify and enlighten viewers in all sorts of aspects of the game.

So with 36 cameras, our space age studio, a host of new technological tools and a commentary team poised for the start of the BBC’s domestic golf season, sit back and enjoy our extensive, uninterrupted live coverage.

BMW Championship coverage

Thursday, 24 May: BBCi (1100–1300); BBC TWO (1330–1800)
Friday, 25 May: BBCi (1100–1300); BBC TWO (1330–1800)
Saturday, 26 May: BBC ONE (1300–1725)
Sunday, 27 May: BBC TWO (1300–1730)

Also check out Radio Five Live for the latest action and regular reports.

Other golf on BBC television this year

12–15 Jul: Scottish Open (Loch Lomond)
19–22 Jul: The Open Championship (Carnoustie)
2–6 Aug: Women’s British Open (St Andrews)
8–9 Sep: Walker Cup (Royal Co. Down)
20–23 Sep: British Masters (The Belfry)
11–14 Oct: World Match Play (Wentworth)