Barclays Golf 2012 TV Coverage: Where & When to Watch This Weekend's Action

The kickoff of The Barclays has been full of excitement, but perhaps that isn't how Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods would classify it just yet.

They'd like to be at the top of the leaderboard. 

This year's PGA Championship victor is mired in the middle of the pack as the first-round action at Bethpage Black continues. Tiger is three-under and McIlroy is two-under through 13.

It could be worse, but it could be better.

This year, we've seen them both flounder out of the gates and surge out of the gates. All things considered, their current positions are positive, even if they are a few strokes off leader Padraig Harrington at seven-under through 17.

Of course, the fact that there's any rivalry at all between Tiger and McIlroy is exciting in itself. A month ago, the idea of McIlroy competing with Tiger at all would have seemed like a long shot, given his considerable struggles at the British Open (tied for 60th), the U.S. Open (missed the cut), The Players Championship (missed the cut) and at the Masters (tied for 40th).

One win at the PGA Championship, and his whole season—his whole career, maybe—seems to have turned around.

And now, in an unlikely turn of events, Tiger is the one who is trying to keep up with McIlroy. He didn't win a major in 2012, but he's been steadily improving over the course of this year. He is now welcoming some real competition to push him to be his personal best.

Being paired with McIlroy for the first two rounds will certainly amplify the pressure.

This week, Tiger told the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"

He's a great kid and it's great to be around him. What an amazing talent he really is. I just hope that everyone just lets him grow and develop as a player because it's going to be fun to see over the next 20 years how this kid's career is going to pan out.

"

Here is everything you need to know about where you can catch McIlroy, Tiger and the rest of the action on TV this weekend (via PGATour.com):

Thursday, August 23: 3-6 p.m. ET, GOLF

Friday, August 24: 3-6 p.m. ET, GOLF

Saturday, August 25: 1-2:30 p.m. ET, 3-6 p.m. ET, GOLF and CBS

Sunday, August 26: 12-1:30 p.m. ET, 2-6 p.m. ET, GOLF and CBS

Though the TV broadcast schedule is a bit limited, you can catch more of the action via PGATour.com's live stream. You can find the link to the live stream here. From Thursday, Aug. 23 to Sunday, Aug. 26, you can view the live stream from 11 a.m. ET until 6 p.m. ET.

Nick Watney is currently hanging in there with Harrington at six-under through 17. Last year's winner, Dustin Johnson, is in good shape as well. He's at four-under through 14, just three strokes off Harrington's lead.

Many of us are likely to be keeping an eye on Vijay Singh, who's won The Barclays four times—most recently in 2008, when he won in a playoff. Singh doesn't tee off until 12:22 p.m. ET on Thursday.

With every moment that goes by, the leaderboard changes. If you don't want to miss a single second of the action, make sure you tune in via the TV broadcast or via PGATour.com's live stream.