‘[TV Ratings] Are Down 20 Percent’: Rory McIlroy Reveals Ugly Truth Behind His Warning to Jay Monahan

“There needs to be a correction.” – warned a frustrated Rory McIlroy as he took to comment on the fractured landscape of the sport. Interestingly, the golfer was highlighting the deal between LIV Golf and PGA Tour that was supposed to have been concluded by December 2023. Now, just hours later, he has managed to attest to the earlier words he issued, courtesy of TV ratings.

During an interview ahead of the 2024 Valero Texas Open, the Northern Irishman took to elaborate on his opinion regarding the game needing a correction owing to its current unsustainable situation. Meanwhile, he did so while taking the example of the poor PGA Tour TV ratings, which have been “down 20 percent across the board!”

Rory McIlroy expresses dissatisfaction over poor TV ratings

The Jay Monahan-led circuit has been hit with setback after setback, especially when it comes to viewership of the recent events. McIlroy seems to agree as well, as he pointed out, “If you look at the TV ratings of the PGA TOUR this year, they’re down 20 percent across the board. That’s a fifth,
that’s big.”

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old was also critical of LIV Golf numbers, as he mentioned how the Greg Norman-led league isn’t seeing many people tuning in either. The reason? Well, the 4-time major champ had an answer to that; “I just think with the fighting and everything that’s went on over the past couple of years, people are just getting really fatigued of it and it’s turning people off men’s professional golf, and that’s not a good thing for anyone.”

Surprisingly, what Rory McIlroy said does make sense, especially when one looks at the recent numbers. The final round of the Valspar Championship raked in an average of 1.886 million viewers, a 27% dip as opposed to the 2023 edition of the PGA Tour event, which had averaged 2.594 million. That’s not all. A similar setback occurred during the Mexico Open as well which saw fewer people tuning in as opposed to the previous year’s contests.

However, the Northern Irishman did not stop there. He went ahead to bring the four major championships into the discussion as he pointed out how the numbers at the upcoming competitions would undoubtedly indicate the step that needs to be taken; a united golf front!

McIlroy focuses on the major championship numbers

“There’s an argument to be made if the numbers are better and you’ve got all the best players in the world playing,” said the 24-time PGA Tour champ before emphasizing how “there’s an argument to say OK, we need to get this thing back together.” However, if the opposite situation occurs, then that too, for McIlroy, is all the more reason to get everyone together.

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Commenting on the same, he said, “If the numbers aren’t as good, it’s an argument to still say we need to put everyone back together because people are losing interest in the game even if they don’t want to tune in to the four major championships.” By highlighting the two sides of the coin, the 34-year-old made sure to emphasize the need to correct the unsustainable situation of the sport. One can’t help but agree with Rory McIlroy when he said, “20 percent’s a pretty jarring number this year.”

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