The PGA Tour has been losing its viewership since the 2024 season, but Jay Monahan has been trying his best. Especially by trying to increase the entertainment value of golf, unofficially. But that does not seem to be working out either. After the Sentry and the Sony Open this year, the viewership has dropped down to a whopping 34%. And while TGL was introduced with the PGA Tour’s support, it has turned into a completion, of sorts. 

The American Express took place from January 16 to January 19. The event concluded with Sepp Straka taking away the trophy. Now, the viewership numbers for the event have been released, and well, they were not that impressive. The PGA Tour attracted just 232,000 viewers for Sepp Straka’s victory on Sunday, a sharp decline from the 534,000 viewers who watched then-amateur Nick Dunlap’s win last year over Xander Schauffele (T-3) and Justin Thomas (T-3), according to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal. In comparison, Jon Rahm drew 391,000 viewers for his win in 2023.

The absence of stars like Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler from the field certainly hurt the appeal, leaving little chance for a high-profile leaderboard to emerge on Sunday. On the other hand, TGL is averaging 869,000 viewers across its first three matches, marking a 50% improvement compared to the college basketball programming on ESPN during the same time slots in 2024. Tuesday night’s Atlanta Drive vs. New York GC match brought in 682,000 viewers, its lowest figure so far, but still a 3x strong showing compared to what AmEx final round.

The TGL match peaked at 728,000 viewers from 8:15-8:30 PM ET. Perhaps even more significant is TGL’s appeal to younger audiences, with a median age of 51—much younger than both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which both have a median age of 63.

The question is which format are you enjoying more? TGL’s or PGA Tour’s? Let us know your pick in the comments below but for now, your fellow fans have some thoughts. 

The golf community will watch anything but LIV Golf

LIV Golf has never been away from criticism. From not abiding by the regulations of the OWGR to snitching away star players from the PGA Tour, despite its global reach for golf, it has failed to garner love from all the fans. It has recently achieved a huge feat by finally gaining a TV deal, and yet, it has been a constant pain point for the golf community. Taking to this, one of them commented, “Anything but LIV!!!!!”

The TGL has a lot of elements that have managed to attract the audience’s interest. The most apt one is that conventional golf tournaments go on for hours. But TGL has made sure that each event does not last for more than 2 hours. This has been done so that they can attract young audiences too, who have a lesser attention span. 

Taking to this, one of them wrote, “Tuesday slot at 7 is key. Also easier for casuals to get into with the format and 2-hour run! Obv pga will pick up as soon as we get into it !” Another commented, “ESPN’s coverage and commentary make it insufferable. I want to hear the banter between players, not the telecasters. TGL has something here but they’re missing on so many levels.”

While there have been several instances, that have led people to believe that the merger might soon be on the way, there still has been no update. It has been a year and a half since the announcement, and the golf community is now frustrated beyond words. Taking to this, one of them wrote, “Golf is f*cked until they merge.” Another wrote, “Golf is broken!!! Will never be the same again.”

“230k. Pga tour is in real trouble,” wrote one fan expressing concern over the stat. We all know that by this point, dropping viewership is a major issue that needs to be tackled. 

What are your thoughts on the trouble with the viewership? Let us know in the comments section below!