Even More Record Breaking TV Ratings at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Remember this time last year when everyone was saying that golf was losing popularity around the globe? Well those ideas are being completely rebuked on this year’s PGA TOUR.

In the past two weeks we’ve seen TV viewership that has skyrocketed to levels we haven’t seen in several years. The Valspar Championship last week hit some record shattering numbers for viewership in non-majors and the Arnold Palmer Invitational just carried that momentum into this week, setting some other highs we haven’t seen in years.

According to a press release, the final round coverage in Bay Hill scored a 3.6 overnight rating, which is 136% higher than last year’s final round. It was the biggest draw for a single round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in over 6 years.

The event also scored high marks for every other single day coverage, with first round coverage up 56% from last year, second round coverage up 153% and third round coverage up 92%.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy look on from the sixth hole tee during…

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy look on from the sixth hole tee during the second round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA on February 16, 2018. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

These big increases are not just limited to this singular event either, as coverage saw some of its biggest spikes in any event in years. Looking at the final round overnight rating for the Arnold Palmer Invitational (3.6) and the Valspar Championship (5.1) both tournaments had the highest viewership in a non-major since the Wyndham Championship in 2015.

There could be many possibilities for this spike in TV coverage but the reemergence of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods certainly seems to have a lot to do with it. Tiger was a contender at the Valspar Championship and the Arnold Palmer while Rory won at Bay Hill in stunning fashion for the first time in awhile. With two former world number one players seemingly recapturing their natural talent, fans are tuning in to watch the two giants battle it out.

With both of these stars shining again, it looks like fans will be interested to watch anytime they take the course. And while the numbers for the non-major events have ticked up, it will certainly be interesting to see how high the ratings go for The Masters in just a few weeks.

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