Reasons for Masters viewing figures prove Rory McIlroy right as LIV Golf impact crystal clear
Official viewership numbers for this year’s Masters were down 20 per cent after Rory McIlroy criticised the sport for the ongoing bickering between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The viewing figures in the United States revealed a notable surge in the opening round. An average of 3.2 million viewers on ESPN marked a 26 per cent increase from the previous year and the highest first-round audience since 2015. The combined two-day average of 3.4 million viewers was the best since 2018.
However, the final round experienced a stark 20 per cent drop in viewership compared to the previous year, with CBS reporting an average viewership of 9.589 million. This marked the lowest-rated Masters since Hideki Matsuyama’s victory in 2021, a sharp contrast to the opening round’s surge. This places it among the least-watched Masters in over three decades, only surpassing the Covid-era years of 2020 and 2021 in viewership.
McIlroy, a persistent PGA Tour supporter, had publicly criticised LIV Golf for over a year. However, in a recent interview, he suggested that conflicts between the two organisations, including public disputes, likely contributed to the decline in viewership.
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“If you look at the TV ratings of the PGA Tour this year, they’re down 20 per cent across the board. That’s a fifth. That’s big. I would say the numbers on LIV aren’t great either in terms of the people tuning in,” said McIlroy.
“I just think with the fighting and everything that’s gone on over the past couple of years, people are just getting fatigued, and it’s turning people off men’s professional golf, and that’s not a good thing for anyone.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how the four major championships do, or even the three, because put Augusta aside, I think that sort of lives in its own world.”
