NBC moving up golf tournament for Notre Dame kickoff

As dictated by NBC, which will air the Michigan-Notre Dame game at 2:30 p.m., third-round leaders at the BMW Championship will step up to the 18th tee shortly after 2 p.m. To compensate, play will begin earlier than normal. “It’s not ideal,” said Vince Pellegrino, the Western Golf Association’s vice president for tournaments. “But we’ll start at 8 a.m. and go till 2:30, and that gives people the opportunity to come early, watch some great golf and then watch some football in the afternoon.” The pitch is a little different Sunday, as the BMW will go head-to-head with the Bears, who kick off at noon at Soldier Field. Sunday’s BMW action is set to conclude at around 5 p.m. “There are seven other Bears home games and 15 others to watch, but the best (golfers) in the world don’t come to Chicago but once a year,” Pellegrino said. If rain causes a delay Saturday — there’s a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms — play would continue after 2:30 p.m. and would be shown on another network. — Chicago Tribune