PGA Tour TV Ratings Decline at Tour Championship

Scottie Scheffler’s Tour Championship win had fewer viewers this year.

Josh Carpenter from Sports Business Journal shared that NBC had 2.7 million viewers for Scheffler’s four-shot victory at East Lake on Sunday.

These numbers don’t include streaming, which is popular among younger golf fans .

Viewer Trends and Concerns:

The 13% drop from last year’s 3.1 million viewers who watched Viktor Hovland win is concerning for the PGA Tour. Scheffler won $25 million and his eighth title of an amazing season, holding off Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala comfortably. He earned over $62 million this year, winning seven times on the PGA Tour, including The Masters and The Players Championship, plus an Olympic medal in Paris.

Despite his dominance, TV audiences have been declining all season. Maybe the staggered scoring start that favored Scheffler didn’t help either. Some fans might think it’s getting boring to watch when one player has such a big advantage.

Last year’s championship wasn’t during Labor Day weekend; more people were likely out enjoying the holiday instead of watching TV this time around. Viewer numbers for The Masters’ final round dropped by 20% in April, but ESPN saw a six-year high for the first two rounds at Augusta.

Scheffler’s brilliance at The Players Championship drew 3.5 million viewers but was still down 17% compared to last year. Even Xander Schauffele’s exciting Open Championship win had a nine-year low in viewership with a 4% dip from last year.

Many players criticized the Tour Championship format, but that’s just part of the issue. While digital streaming might improve overall numbers, it’s clear there’s a worrying trend here.

What do you think about these changes?