Golf’s television ratings earned a much needed boost last weekend as Rory McIlroy’s career grand slam win at the Masters sent viewing figures through the roof.
Sunday’s enthralling final round at Augusta National was the most watched telecast on any US network since 2018 averaging 12.707 million viewers – a 33% increase on the final round in 2024 while it was the most-watched day in Sky Sports history with a peak audience of 1.85 million.
Just over 19.5 million people tuned in to Sunday’s broadcast on CBS, a peak figure between 7pm and 7.15pm ET.
For comparison and to show that McIlroy really does move the needle without Tiger Woods, it was only approximately 700,000 less than the 20.2 million average viewership that tuned in to witness Tiger’s historic comeback victory at the Masters in 2019.
When it comes to Augusta National, McIlroy is the poster boy as this was the most watched final round since 2018 where the Northern Irishman trailed Patrick Reed by four shots heading into Sunday.
Television ratings were given a timely shot in the arm by McIlroy’s winning performance at the PLAYERS Championship last month with 3.6 million people on average and a peak audience of 6.2 million.
Golf television is breathing again after suffering from poor ratings on US television ever since LIV Golf’s inception which has driven a wedge into the sport, taking away the best players from regular PGA Tour tournaments.
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