Rory McIlroy Fails to Save Golf’s TV Ratings; $1.9M Heroics Go in Vain as Broadcasting Woes Hit Nasty Low

The ninth edition of The Match scored big on many fronts but fumbled in TV ratings. Recent reports point out that the charity event was one of the worst performers on Nielsen-rated television broadcasts. It was rather surprising news indeed, as there was no dearth of promotional activities from the Tour or the organizers. 

Rory McIlroy set the course on fire early on, eventually winning The Match in a playoff and raising $1.9 million. Moreover, Capital One gave free rein to Max Homa on the hot mic, ostentatiously, to capitalize on the PGAT Pro’s ever-growing popularity as the roast master. Yet, the event failed to draw proportional eyeballs. 

The Match fails to deliver despite the Rory McIlroy show

Sports Media Watch reported that the latest edition of ‘The Match’ “averaged a combined 511,000 viewers across TNT (390K), truTV (74K) and HLN (47K).” It was “easily the least-watched of the eight total contests on Nielsen-rated television.” The viewership was also significantly down from the previous edition.

Per the same report, last year’s event, where Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce went head-to-head against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, garnered around 773K viewers. This year’s numbers were 34% lower than that. However, The Match didn’t lack the resources to score a higher viewership. 

For the first time, LPGA pros were participating in the event. The format was revamped to a skins game, with Lexi Thompson winning the first. Charles Barkley did from the booth what he does best. But it failed to translate to the TV rating. While it wasn’t an official PGA Tour event, it was symptomatic of what the Tour has been grappling with for quite some time.

Does the PGA Tour need a course correction?

Around 1.8 million tuned into NBC for the Mexico Open final round, per Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter. “That’s down 23% from 2.3 million for Tony Finau’s win last year on CBS, which aired in late April. Two years ago: 2.28 million for Jon Rahm,” added Carpenter. That was the latest in line with the PGA Tour’s coverage issues. Previously, fans have pointed out that commercials ruin the viewing experience on the Tour.

In fact, Collin Morikawa, too, thinks along the same line. Speaking at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the six-time PGA tour winner said, “Well, I mean, you first need to see more golf shots. Like that’s like — that’s like the No. 1 bullet point. How do I make it more interesting? That’s a great one.” Continuing on the matter, Morikawa recounted his viewing experience.

Read More: Capital One’s The Match: Best Moments From All Eight Editions, Ranked

“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. The reason why other sports are — people pay attention is because people see more, you can probably bet more. People like betting when you can watch it live, not watch it on ShotTracer.” The Tour has a deal with CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and ESPN for broadcasting and streaming that runs until 2030. After losing a host of its biggest draws to LIV Golf, which has its own broadcasting troubles, Jay Monahan can ill afford to lose more viewers due to commercials.

Read More: ‘Absolute Worst’: PGA Tour Gets Scrutinized By Analysts and Fans Alike After LIV Golf’s Revolutionary Move