The PGA Tour is having a really tough season right now. It’s not just because big names like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are missing from the early events. But also because of the weather which has been unsupportive of Jay Monahan’s team since its very first event.

Things seemed pretty okay until the Sentry Tournament got some criticism from fans for its boring playoffs. The Hawaii event was supposed to gain a good viewership. After all this year it had the lowest 54th-hole score since 1999. But ironically, fans missed the Hawaiian winds and the thrill it brought on the course with it.

In the middle of all this, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new venture, TGL, offered some hope to Jay Monahan. When the PGA Tour-associated event, TGL launched on January 7, it pulled in an impressive 3.2 million viewers outperforming even the NBA and college basketball ratings that night!

The crowd was excited, the Tiger Woods‘s team was thrilled, and overall, it felt like a solid start. This positive response was pretty surprising given that TGL had faced a lot of criticism before, with people calling it a copy of LIV Golf, complaining about the $160 ticket prices, and about how PGA Tour pros were changing the game. But the viewership staged the event for a celebration!

Apparently, just as Monahan started to feel good about TGL’s success, more challenges came his way. On January 11, a report from Nuclear Golf shared some tough news for the PGA Tour. It revealed that viewership for the Sentry had not only dropped by a few numbers but dropped drastically compared to last year. Last season, Chris Kirk won the Sentry and it racked up 707,000 viewers during the Golf Channel window.

That was an incredible increase from the 603,000 views during the 2023 season when Jon Rahm took the title. Rahm made an incredible comeback that day, shooting 10-under in the final round after being 9 strokes behind at one point. He had three straight birdies and clutched a finish with a 10-under 63. But this season, instead of going up, the Sentry Tour dropped in viewership by a total of 246K views from 2024 according to a post by the Nuclear Golf on X.

Apparently PGA Tour’s rival, LIV Golf is growing their viewership game this season. But wait, to add more tension over The PGA Tour’s shoulder, there is one more shocking update for the team. The $8.7M tour, Sony Open too is turning to be a disastrous event just like The Sentry. But, this time the reason is not the weather but the fielders themselves. Yes, you heard that right!

The unplanned withdrawal of PGA Tour players from Sony Open

The first full-field tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour season kicked off on Thursday, and it was certainly an exciting start! Players stepped on the greens with new coaches, new gear, and others just shaking off the off-season rust. 

Among the highlights, Englishman Harry Hall shot fiercely carding a career-best 10 birdies and finishing the day with a fantastic 6-under 64. Well, he wasn’t the only one making waves, as four other golfers also tied for the lead among the early finishers. 

However, not all news was rosy. Just before the second round of the $8.7 million event, Brian Campbell, who had posted a solid 67 in round one, surprisingly withdrew from the tournament. To add to the drama, Tom Widing, a 27-year-old who had secured his spot on the USA tour after a successful 2024 on the Korn Ferry sub-tour, also pulled out after struggling on Thursday with a 74 and sitting four strokes over par. The reason for his withdrawal? A mysterious illness that has ultimately left Jay Monahan & Co. underwater after the shocking Sentry stats! 

What do you think will happen next? How will these changes affect the competition moving forward? And will the PGA Tour be able to gain back its trustable viewers? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!