5 Ways Jay Monahan & Co. Can Save PGA Tour Amid Declining TV Viewership

Away from the competition between the two leagues, the PGA Tour has been struggling to get the attraction from fans. The league, even after being the legacy creator, has now found its way down according to the fans. The last few events of the 2025 schedule saw viewership drop. The American Express, concluding with 232K views as compared to 534K in 2024, saw a 56% drop.

Even the Sentry 2025 received a 34% drop with 461K viewers, compared to 707K in 2024 and 603K in 2023. The record-setting performance of Hideki Matsuyama, who recorded 35 under par, had the lowest score ever recorded. Not only this, even his fellow golfer, Taylor Pendrith, recorded an albatross which happened for the first time in 27 years of the Sentry.

Despite the great golfing, there is a huge drop in viewership. While as per the issues faced by the fans and players. Here are 5 ways that could revive the dying viewership of the PGA Tour.

1) Stronger Field-

Having the top names in the event is a bonus for the league. Take the example of ‘The Showdown’, which featured Bryson DeChambeau-Brooks Koepka, and Rory McIlroy-Scottie Scheffler representing both leagues. The event being played on the weekday managed to get 600K viewership, which is greater than the American Express and the Sentry.

With the merger being in talks, it could be a great resolution for both leagues to get higher attention from the fans and increased viewership.

2) Interactive TV product-

The dropping viewership isn’t only a concern for the tour, but it is also an issue for golfers. Witnessing that, Justin Thomas has shared a memo with changes to make in the TV broadcast to make it more interactive for the fans. Thomas, being on the committee for fan engagement along with Max Homa, Mackenzie Hughes, and Adam Schenk, got the idea of improvement.

Sharing in the memo, he wrote, “I’ve had no interest when someone asks for an interview mid-round or suggests trying something new. But I also know how much the fans love those moments – hearing our thought processes, conversations with our caddies, our reactions to shots, and understanding the ups and downs of competing at the highest level.”

As shared in the memo, this could be a game-changer for fan engagement during the long rounds.

3) Tackle slow play-

The rising concern for the fans and players is the slow play. There is no sign of slowing as each event is crossing the maximum duration mark. Take the example of the American Express Open, where the group took 5 hours 39 minutes to finish, while at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, the final round took 5 hours 29 minutes to complete. For the long hours and slow play, players and fans have been vocal about. However, now even a reporter shared her frustration.

CBS reporter Dottie Pepper, who was following Harris English, Andrew Novak, and Aldrich Potgieter, spoke about her frustration to her colleague. She said, “You know, Frank [Nobilo], I think we’re starting to need a new word to talk about this pace of play issue, and it’s respect.”

Even though, as per the rule book, rules 6-9 cover undue delay and slow play. There have been a handful of instances where players are penalized for it. However, with the increasing concern, it needs to be considered as a priority to avoid dropping viewership.

4) Make interesting storylines including lesser-known pros-

As talked about in the first point, having the top names could be really helpful for the league. However, improving the media presence and showcasing the lesser-known pros better could help. As Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler cannot be at every event, so will the league always suffer? Well guess not, and neither does Paige Spiranac think that way.

Kyle Porter, founder of Normal Sport, shared a post on X which talked about how fascinating it is to watch a favorite YouTuber than “to watch Andrew Novak and Sam Stevens duke it out at Torrey for 400 minutes.” Replying to that, Spiranac wrote, “Instead of hating on less known pro golfers, golf media should report on them! If you guys have any interesting insights or facts on any of the pro golfers let me know and I would love to amplify on my channels!”

Even Byeong Hun An, a professional golfer, wrote in defense, “What’s wrong with having English, Novak, and Stevens in contention?” The unique approach of covering lesser-known pros could be a great move and Spiranac is making sure to lead the way.

5) Better coverage of the events

The PGA Tour’s event coverage has been criticized for a long time now. It has been an issue for the league, but after LIV Golf’s deal with Fox Sports, the coverage needs to improve to stay ahead of the competition. Earlier this season at the Sentry, fans were furious about the unfortunate coverage of Taylor Pendrith’s history-making albatross.

PGA Tour’s official account shared the video for it on X. Despite it being a great achievement, fans were angry about the coverage, and one of them commented, “Your coverage is ruining the game.”

With fans moving to YouTube to watch golf, and competitor leagues finalizing better deals with TV broadcasters. The PGA Tour could end up in trouble if it does not consider the pain points of fans.