After a slower start, a solid finish boosted the Women’s British Open over last year.
The complete Women’s British Open averaged 256,000 viewers on ESPN2, up 14% from last year (225K), but down 11% from 2013, when American Stacy Lewis won (287K). Inbee Park‘s win averaged the third-smallest audience for the tournament in the past 15 years, ahead of only last year and 2012 (196K).
The tournament was on pace to finish behind last year entering the weekend, with a 5% dip in viewership for Thursday’s first round (from 236K to 224K) and a 14% drop for Friday’s second (from 194K to 167K).
Viewership bounced back over the weekend, however, with Sunday’s final round scoring 354,000 — up 38% from last year (257K) and down 19% from 2013 (436K). Sunday’s big increase followed similar growth on Saturday. Third round action drew 285,000, up 38% in viewership from last year (206K) and up 47% from 2013 (193K).
Ratings held steady across the board, with the first, third and final rounds each matching last year’s 0.2 and the second round pulling even at a 0.1.
As one could expect, given the early morning timeslots, the Women’s British Open trails the other women’s golf majors this year — the Kraft ANA Inspiration (417K), U.S. Women’s Open (485K) and Women’s PGA Championship (520K).
(This year’s numbers via ESPN)
