The final round of LIV Golf Mayakoba was expected to attract more viewers due to being the only golf tournament on television on Sunday, as the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was postponed and ultimately canceled. The main question was how much the ratings for LIV would increase.
Comparing the ratings of the final round to last season’s opening round, which also took place in Mexico, there was a significant increase in viewers. However, when comparing Sunday’s ratings to PGA Tour ratings earlier in the week and other sporting events over the weekend, the numbers were not as impressive.
According to Sports TV Ratings, the CW Network’s broadcast of LIV Golf on Sunday had 432k viewers, a substantial jump from the 168k viewers on Saturday. This surpassed last season’s opening round ratings by approximately 140k viewers.
Although the increase of 264k viewers from Saturday to Sunday’s LIV broadcasts was a commendable boost, it still fell far short of the 1.95 million viewers who tuned into CBS’ third-round coverage from Pebble Beach on Saturday afternoon.
LIV Golf is also available for free live-streaming on YouTube, and the final round on Sunday attracted an additional 27k viewers on the platform. Interestingly, the first-round stream from Mayakoba on Friday afternoon outperformed the other two days with 143k viewers on YouTube.
There is no denying that LIV faces a significant challenge in competing with the PGA Tour in terms of overall interest and attracting more viewers. However, the increased ratings and the large number of golf fans discussing LIV on social media over the weekend indicate that more people are paying attention now than ever before. Despite starting its third year, LIV Golf has managed to move in a positive direction.
As LIV Golf is funded solely by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, it has ample time to gradually reshape professional golf.
Mark covers all major sports but pays special attention to the world of golf. He holds a journalism and online media degree from the University of Tennessee, although you can form your own opinion on that. When he isn’t working, there’s a high probability he can be found on the golf course.