TOUR Championship Ratings Are An Indication It’s Time to Get a LIV Deal Done

The TOUR Championship’s TV ratings fell 13 percent compared to last year, only solidifying the fact that it is time for the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf to come to a deal to bring the world’s best players back together.

Josh Carpenter revealed the final round of the TOUR Championship managed to accumulate 2.7 million viewers, down from the 3.1 million that tuned in last year.

The TOUR Championship brings the Top 30 golfers on the PGA TOUR to East Lake to battle it out for a lucrative purse — this year’s was $25 million for first place. However, the field is missing big names like DeChambeau, Johnson, Koepka, Rahm, and others.

It is a hard truth to realize that the PGA TOUR, and golf as a whole, is struggling due to division:

NBC draws 2.7M viewers for Scottie Scheffler’s four-shot win in the Tour Championship on Sunday (no streaming included).

That’s down 13% from last year: 3.1M on CBS when Viktor Hovland won by five (not on Labor Day weekend). pic.twitter.com/LMqK1jqDrV

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) September 4, 2024

LIV is having its own problems with viewership. Although Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm battled it out for the trophy at LIV Golf Greenbrier, there were no true spikes in the ratings. Why? Initially, many do not realize that access to LIV is available on CW. Even further, many true golf traditionalists still choose not to tune in.

However, the lack of presence from some of the game’s biggest names who have chosen to leave the TOUR is the big sticking point. Of course, the TOUR still offers, Scheffler, Morikawa, Schauffele, McIlroy, and Thomas. But are these total draws? Is it enough competition to truly move the needle?

With golf fiending for a personality that draws attention like Tiger Woods, perhaps it is time for one of the game’s biggest personalities to truly step up. Golf needs a controversial and polarizing figure, and while LIV fits that bill, it is not an individual. Golf needs one player to truly redefine what it means to be a professional golfer. Winning is not enough for people to tune in, Scheffler has already proven that.

The game could see some benefit in the near future as Koepka and DeChambeau have already agreed to duel McIlroy and Scheffler in the next iteration of TNT’s The Match in mid-December.

Perhaps that could be the first step toward the game recovering what is a disinterested fan base that seems to only bring in the true, die-hard fans.

Cover Image via Texas Athletics