Golf’s “fifth major” was the top sports contest of the weekend, though viewership was on the low side historically.
Sunday’s final round of The Players Championship averaged a 2.45 rating and 4.14 million viewers on NBC, up 38% in ratings and 42% in viewership from last year (1.8, 2.91M) and the top sporting event of the weekend. (The NCAA Tournament Selection Show was the top sportscast overall with 5.1 million.)
Scottie Scheffler’s win also ranks as the most-watched PGA Tour event this season and the most-watched non-major golf telecast since the final round of the Players two years ago.
Viewership was still on the low side for the event, topping only last year and 2017 (3.69M) as the least-watched final round in the past nine years. The final round averaged 5.8 million five years ago, when Tiger Woods finished just outside the top ten.
Third round action on Saturday drew a 1.8 and 2.83 million, up 12% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (1.6, 2.56M) and the most-watched sporting event of the day.
Four of the last five PGA Tour events have posted double-digit gains on broadcast television, the Honda Classic being the lone exception. Not coincidentally, all four (Phoenix, Riviera, Bay Hill and The Players) are “elevated” events on the PGA Tour schedule, with bigger prize money and the required presence of the Tour’s most prominent players (as determined by the Tour’s “Player Impact Program” that measures, among other things, how often a player is searched on Google).
The three other tournaments on broadcast this season — Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and the Honda Classic — are not currently elevated events. Each posted year-over-year declines, including double-digit drops for Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 3.14)
