As with Xander Schauffele, CBS Sports and ESPN had important wins at the PGA Championship last week.
Sunday’s final round, which saw Schauffele fend off a ferocious attack from Bryson DeChambeau, averaged 4.958 million viewers on CBS, up 10% from last year when Brooks Koepka won at Oak Hill. .
Viewership reached 8.421 million, matching Schauffele’s play on the par-5 18th. He arrived at the final hole tied with DeChambeau at 20 under, but made a thrilling birdie to win the Wanamaker Trophy by one stroke. His total of 21 under par set a new major tournament scoring record.
In the final hour from 6:15 p.m. ET to 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS averaged 7.764 million viewers. There was a lot of drama during this period, including DeChambeau crashing his drive into a tree and grabbing a lucky break on the 16th for birdie. DeChambeau then hit the bar on the 18th hole, creating a thrilling celebration that drew comparisons to Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship victory three years earlier.
In the final hour, Viktor Hovran, one of the fan favorites on the PGA Tour, was also in contention for the win, but a bogey at the end narrowly defeated him.
Additionally, CBS Sports’ streaming service, Paramount+, saw double-digit increases in households, hours and average viewers year-over-year.
On top of that, following Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, ESPN averaged 1.6 million viewers on Friday, an 18% increase compared to Round 2 in 2023. Last year, Koepka soared up Friday’s leaderboard, with DeChambeau overshadowed and Scheffler leading the way. Hovland held a 36-hole lead over Corey Connors. Still, the 2023 second round drew 231,000 fewer viewers than this year’s eventful and strange second day.
Friday’s ESPN telecast drew rave reviews for its coverage of Scheffler and the game of golf itself, peaking with 2 million viewers in the 15-minute period from 6 to 6:15 p.m. ET.
Overall, these increases will not only benefit the network, but also men’s professional golf. Television ratings, including the Masters, struggled throughout 2024, but the thrilling drama and shocking events surrounding the championship led to a surge in interest, which was understandable.
This trend will likely continue at next month’s U.S. Open. NBC Sports will broadcast the third major game of the year from No. 2 Pinehurst.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
