Golf fans turned away in droves from last weekend’s American Express tournament, with TV viewership plummeting nearly 60% compared to last year’s exciting finish.
Just 232,000 people watched Sepp Straka cruise to a comfortable two-shot victory at PGA West. That’s way down from the 534,000 who tuned in last year to see amateur Nick Dunlap make history, and the 391,000 who watched Jon Rahm win in 2023.
Why such a dramatic drop? A few things worked against the tournament this year.
For starters, Straka’s win wasn’t exactly a nail-biter. He maintained a solid lead throughout Sunday’s final round, finishing at an impressive 25-under par ahead of Justin Thomas.
But the biggest challenge? The NFL playoffs.
The tournament’s final round went head-to-head with the Philadelphia Eagles’ snowy playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. It’s no contest when it comes to American TV audiences – NFL games dominated the ratings last year, taking up more than 125 spots in the top 200 most-watched broadcasts.
Golf’s biggest TV draw, The Masters, didn’t even crack that top 200 list.
The tournament also faced other hurdles:
- Top stars Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele withdrew before it started
- Play was painfully slow, with the leaders taking almost six hours to finish
- The 10:50 am PT tee time meant most of the country was focused on football by the finish
This ratings slide isn’t just a one-off problem. The PGA Tour has been dealing with declining viewership for several years now.
Even the new tech-focused TGL league is seeing similar challenges. After averaging about a million viewers in its first two weeks, viewership dropped 30% to 682,000 for last week’s match.
There might be hope on the horizon though. Next week’s TGL showdown between Rory McIlroy’s Boston team and Tiger Woods’ Jupiter squad could bring viewers back – it’s being billed as the most anticipated match of the season.
