The PGA Tour’s volatile Florida Swing has yielded a ratings surge.
Last week’s Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event, averaged 4.4 million viewers on NBC, with coverage peaking at 7.1 million from 5:45–6 p.m. as Cam Young snatched the come-from-behind victory on TPC Sawgrass’s final two holes.
That’s the Players Championship’s highest rating since 2021, when 4.6 million tuned in for Justin Thomas’s win. And for good measure, this year’s Saturday audience was 3.1 million, the most since 2021 and up 13% from last year.
A year ago, as Rory McIlroy claimed the title, the final round drew in 3.6 million amid inclement weather. That pushed a three-hole aggregate playoff to Monday morning on Golf Channel, although that produced 1.5 million viewers, the second-highest weekday total in Golf Channel history.
Scottie Scheffler’s wins in 2024 and 2023 pulled in 3.5 million and 4.1 million.
The Players Championship’s strong viewership continues a recent trend for NBC, as it’s the third straight week that the PGA Tour had its highest rating since 2021. The Cognizant Classic, the first event of the Florida Swing, drew an average of 2.5 million peopleas Shane Lowry fumbled a three-stroke lead in the last three holes. Then, the Arnold Palmer Invitational attracted 3.3 million people, with Akshay Bhatia topping Daniel Berger in a playoff.
Last week’s LIV Golf Singapore averaged 71,000 viewers across four rounds on FS1 and FS2, according to Sports Business Journal. The time difference caused Bryson DeChambeau’s dramatic playoff win to be shown overnight; though, last year’s Singapore event averaged 32,000 people.
It’s worth noting that last year, Nielsen began tracking audiences with Big Panel + Data, which combines data from digital devices along with panel data from actual people. That can lead to an uptick in ratings.
NBC will broadcast the next three events—the Valspar Championship, Texas Children’s Houston Open and Valero Texas Open—leading into the Masters.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Players Championship Produces Massive TV Rating Amid Recent Surge.
