PGA Championship suffers dramatic fall in viewing figures

The PGA Championship saw a dramatic drop in viewing figures as Brooks Koepka completed his comeback story at Oak Hill.

A resurgent Koepka’s return to the big time and the fairytale of Michael Block in upstate New York could not captivate the wider sporting audience stateside, new figures show.

Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reports that American broadcaster CBS recorded the lowest numbers for a final round in the major championship in 15 years.

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Sunday’s finale attracted 4.517 million viewers, a 14% fall from last year, when 5.273 million saw Justin Thomas capitalise on Mito Pereira’s final hole implosion to win his second Wanamaker trophy at Southern Hills.

There has not been a smaller audience for the PGA Championship final round since Padraig Harrington won his third major title at Oakland Hills back in 2008.

The coverage of moving day in Rochester was also down from 2022, with 3.222 million tuning into CBS as Koepka took the 54-hole lead, an 11% drop from Saturday’s Southern Hills coverage.

PGA Championship: CBS draws 4.517M viewers Sunday for Brooks Koepka's win, the lowest since 2008 (4.020M) and down 14% from 5.273M for Justin Thomas last year.

Sunday viewership trend for the PGA:
2023: 4.517M
2022: 5.273M
2021: 6.583M
2020: 5.153M (in August)
2019: 5.008M pic.twitter.com/ZLlK9UqhkK

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) May 23, 2023

A huge 6.583 million people saw Phil Mickelson become the oldest major champion in history at Kiawah Island in 2021, while 5.153m watched the 2020 event which was held in August.

The considerable fall in viewership on CBS could be attributed to the growing belief amongst some golf fans that the PGA Championship is suffering from somewhat of an identity crisis.

The major is sandwiched between the more eminent Masters Tournament and US Open, with its former slogan “Glory’s Last Shot’ no longer appropriate as the final major of the calendar year.

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There may have been elite golfers chasing redemption after a poor year in the majors whilst the tournament was held in August, but that date was moved in 2018.

Others will also point to the obvious absence of Tiger Woods for the drop in general interest, with the injured 15-time major champion also out of next month’s US Open in Los Angeles.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.