Xander Schauffele won his second major championship at the British Open last Sunday, and while Royal Troon challenged golfers with rough conditions, the fans just didn’t seem interested.
But TV Final round evaluation It was reportedly the worst showing in a decade, and 3.39 million viewers tuned in on NBC and Peacock to watch Schauffele win by two strokes, according to Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal.
That’s a four percent drop from last year, when Brian Harman won the title with Royal Liverpool.
Those ratings are the lowest since Zach Johnson won the Open at St. Andrews in 2015. Johnson beat Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a four-hole playoff that ended Monday.
NBC and Peacock drew 3.39 million viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-stroke victory. opendown 4% from last year, Brian Harman.
That’s the lowest final round total since Zach Johnson’s 2015 win, which ended Monday on ESPN (cable). pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024
Indeed, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Tiger Woods and Ludvig Aaberg all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest.
It’s shocking to see such low ratings for one of the big four events on the PGA Tour schedule.
However, viewership declined across half of the major leagues, and that trend is likely to continue into 2024.
CBS Sports reported that just 9.589 million viewers tuned in to watch Scottie Scheffler win his second green jacket, down 20% from the 2023 Masters Tournament won by Jon Rahm.
Surprisingly, the PGA Championship saw a 10% increase in viewership on CBS Sports. Despite many complaints about Valhalla Golf Club, viewers still watched Schauffele beat Bryson DeChambeau to win his first major championship. The arrest of Scottie Scheffler likely also contributed to the ratings boost.
The US Open’s television ratings hit their highest in 11 years, thanks to the success of Pinehurst No. 2.
DeChambeau and McIlroy went head-to-head and golf fans watched as the Northern Irishman collapsed in the closing stages while the LIV Golf captain hit an incredible bunker shot to claim his second U.S. Open title.
Is DeChambeau to blame for the excitement around the PGA Championship and U.S. Open?
The level of competition may have had something to do with it, especially since it was so close, but the Open also had some pretty intense final rounds.
Are fans finally tired of the split between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour?
The numbers don’t lie. Is DeChambeau the latest player to bring about change? The decline of half the players in major tournaments is extremely worrying and an issue that needs to be addressed immediately.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
