PGA Tour’s Tragic TV Ratings Sink to ‘Historic’ Low as Scottie Scheffler’s $4,500,000 Efforts Prove Futile

The PGA Tour sunk to a historical low at THE PLAYERS even though Scottie Scheffler created Sawgrass history on Sunday. The latest reports point out that the final round at Ponte Vedra, where Scheffler overcame a moving day five-stroke deficit for the first time in his career, was the lowest watched Sunday broadcast of the ‘fifth Major’ in a decade. In fact, this year’s THE PLAYERS Championship recorded a year-to-year decline on the third day as well. 

It becomes more staggering as last year’s event was delayed because of poor weather. Nevertheless, the trend is in line with the Tour’s rating misery throughout the first half of the season. While the ratings were always a concern heading to Ponte Vedra, the ratings freefall was quite outrageous, nonetheless.

Worst Sunday in a decade of THE PLAYERS Championship history

Sports Media Watch reported the Sunday numbers at 3.53 million, a 15% downtrend since last year when Scheffler waltzed to a five-stroke victory. The numbers are the lowest in a decade. The last time THE PLAYERS Championship recorded a dismal rating was in 2014 when Martin Kaymer and Jim Furyk’s final round battle drew 3 million.

The average numbers stand at 2.1 million at NBC, a 16% year-on-year decline. Just three years ago, Justin Thomas’s final-round heroics were watched by 7 million viewers at its peak with an average of 4.5 million, per SportsPro Media. Moreover, this year, the moving day coverage only garnered 2.42 million views, the lowest third-round numbers for the event in a decade. The second round of coverage also drew in fewer eyeballs (803,000) than last year’s weather-delayed coverage (860K). It has been a noticeable trend this year on the Tour. 

Before THE PLAYERS Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational too succumbed to a low-rating quagmire. The final round at Bay Hill got 2.3 million viewers on TV, compared to the 3.3 million that Kurt Kitayama’s victory generated a year prior. The final round of the Genesis Invitational too witnessed a declining trend, with viewers dropping to 3.2 million from 3.4 million in 2023. The downtrend has even players concerned.

Players echo fans’ sentiments on PGA Tour TV ratings

Fans have been pointing out since the season-opening Sentry that commercials take precedence over the actual game. Something that Tour pros agree with as well. Collin Morikawa said in January, “I turn on golf on a Thursday if I play early. I turn it on, and I see three golf shots, and I question why… You can change the fact of seeing more golf shots, and that’s a big part of actually saying I want to go watch golf, right?” 

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For Rory McIlroy, the declining trend is one more reason to speed up the negotiations between PIF and the PGA Tour. “I think fans are getting fatigued of it, and I think the more and more we go down this route, the more people are just going to tune in four times a year [for the major championships], which is no good for anyone — no good for golf.” Perhaps, as evidence of that, Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, was booed on Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship.

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