Justin Rose's thrilling win draws best ratings for FedEx St. Jude Championship since 2013
NBC reported that 3.6 million people tuned in Sunday to take in the exciting action unfolding in Memphis — a 71 percent increase from the final round viewership for Hideki Matsuyama's win a year ago (2.1 million), according to Josh Carpenter with Sports Business Journal.
It's the highest-rated final round for the FedEx St. Jude Championship since 2013, when a young Harris English held off Phil Mickelson to win by two shots.
The event performed well Saturday, too, with 2.2 million tuning in for the third round, according to Carpenter. In total, NBC reported a 66 percent increase in average viewership over the weekend compared to 2024. Of course, part of that could be due to the fact that Tommy Fleetwood — a fan-favorite whose first win has long eluded him — was in contention until the very end before he stumbled down the stretch and finished tied for third.
Regardless, it's another week worth celebrating for the PGA Tour, which is experiencing a banner season in terms of TV ratings. Just last week, CBS Sports reported that 2025 was its most-watched golf season in seven years.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs roll on this week at the 2025 BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland, which will be carried by NBC and its affiliates, along with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+. The top 30 in the standings after this week will advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake — the final leg of the playoffs.
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USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
BMW Championship: First round tee times, how to watch, leaderboard today
All of the PGA Tour's biggest stars are back together for the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs The 2025 BMW Championship tees off on Thursday, August 14 from Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, featuring only the top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings. That includes Rory McIlroy, who sits in second place despite skipping last week's playoff opener at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. Scottie Scheffler remains the heavy favorite entering tournament play and he'll be in the same marquee pairing alongside McIlroy for the opening 36 holes of the event. The first tee time is set for 9:21 a.m., with the rest of the limited field to follow in Round 1. Only the top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings at the conclusion of Sunday's final round will advance to The Tour Championship. This is also the last PGA Tour event in which golfers can earn Ryder Cup team points. USA TODAY Sports will be following everything happening on the course as the 2025 BMW Championship gets underway. Here are updates from Round 1 of the PGA Tour's second FedEx Cup playoff event: BMW leaderboard This section will be updated as play begins. A full list of tee times and leaderrboard can also be viewed below. BMW CHAMPIONSHIP: Updated tee times, leaderboard What time is the BMW Championship? The 2025 BMW Championship enters the first round on Thursday, Aug. 14. The first tee time on Thursday is 9:21 a.m. ET, with coverage starting at 9:15 a.m. ET. How to watch 2025 BMW Championship: TV, streaming for PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs event The 2025 BMW Championship, the second event of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs, will be televised nationally on the Golf Channel and NBC. It can be live streamed via ESPN+, Peacock and Fubo depending on the time. Here's the full broadcast schedule for all four rounds: All times Eastern Thursday, Aug. 14 and Friday, Aug. 15 Saturday, Aug. 16 Sunday, Aug. 17 Watch BMW Championship with Fubo BMW Championship tee times, pairings All times ET. FedEx Cup standings Listed below are the top-10 finishers in the FedEx Cup standings. These are the golfers that have qualified for the BMW Championship this weekend. For a full list of standings, click here.
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
How to watch BMW Championship 2025: live stream PGA Tour golf online, TV channels, Round 1 tee times
The second of the three-part FedEx Cup Playoffs continue this week at the BMW Championship, as the 50 remaining players take on Cave Valley, Maryland. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and last week's winner Justin Rose are all in action and you can watch BMW Championship 2025 live streams from anywhere with a VPN. ► Dates: Thursday, August 14 to Sunday, August 17.• Round 1 start time: 9:21 a.m. ET / 6:21 a.m. PT / 2:45 p.m. BST / 11:45 p.m. AEST• U.S. — Golf Channel via Sling / NBC / Peacock+ / ESPN+• U.K. — Sky Sports• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free Scheffler will again start as favorite, with two 2025 majors in his back pocket and a consistent showing throughout the PGA Tour season meaning the American is way ahead in the FedEx Cup standings. Second in the rankings is McIlroy and golf's two big beasts will tee it up in the same group on Thursday's Round 1 for the first time since the final round of the British Open Championship. Justin Rose came from behind to win the first of the three 2025 FedEx Cup Playoff events last week in the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, while fellow Brit Tommy Fleetwood was leading going into the final round to continue his solid recent form. Defending BMW Championship champion Keegan Bradley is again in the field, though the U.S. Ryder Cup captain may have half an eye on some of his potential picks before Bethpage in a month's time. Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Cameron Young and Sam Burns will all hope to impress, but Jordan Spieth didn't make the top 50 and will be absent in Maryland. The top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings after four rounds will make it through to the Tour Championship at East Lake, Atlanta, next week so there's plenty to play for(e). With the action starting at Cave Valley, Maryland, below is a complete guide to where to watch 2025 BMW Championship live streams, together with U.S. broadcast schedules, international TV channels and selected Round 1 tee times. Watch BMW Championship with Sling TV Sling's Blue TV packages lets you watch PGA golf via NBC (in select cities). Take advantage of their brand new 7-day 'Week Pass' and you will be able to stream the action for just $14.99 on NBC. To access the Golf Channel on Sling you will also need the Sports Extra add-on for just $3. 2025 BMW Championship live streams will be shown on different channels across the world, but what if you're not in your home country and want to watch it on your usual service? The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you're abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the golf live as if you were in your lounge. Our favorite right now is NordVPN and you can find out why in our NordVPN review. NordVPN deal: FREE $50 / £50 Amazon gift card Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN.✅ 3 months extra FREE!✅ 74% off usual price Use Nord to unblock Sling and watch BMW Championship 2025 online with our exclusive deal. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Download and install a VPN — as we say, our top choice is NordVPN. 2. Connect to the appropriate server location — open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location. 3. Go to the broadcaster's stream — head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home. TV coverage of the BMW Championship is shared between several broadcasters and streaming platforms in the U.S. The most comprehensive coverage can be found online via ESPN+, which costs $11.99/month or $120/year and can be bundled in with Disney+ and Hulu. They will broadcast full coverage from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.. TV coverage is available on Sling and split between the Golf Channel and NBC as follows (all times in ET): • Thursday: Golf Channel (2 p.m.-6 p.m.) • Friday: Golf Channel (2 p.m.-6 p.m.) • Saturday: Golf Channel (1 p.m.-3 p.m.), NBC (3 p.m.-6 p.m.) • Sunday: Golf Channel (12 p.m.-2 p.m.), NBC (2 p.m.-6 p.m.) Golf Channel streams will be simulcast on the NBC Sports App, while the NBC streams will also be on the Peacock streaming platform. If you have one of these subscriptions but you're not at home when the golf is on, use NordVPN to access your usual stream from anywhere. Residents of Canada will need TSN+ to catch the full four days of the BMW Championship. The streaming service grants access to everything TSN has to offer on an $8/month or $80/year subscription basis. If you already have access to TSN through your cable provider, you'll also be able to watch Round 3 (on TSN4) and Round 4 (on TSN1) on TV. Those traveling outside Canada can access their usual TSN+ stream by using NordVPN. All four days of the BMW Championship will be shown live on Sky Sports in the U.K. across its Main Event and Golf stations. Sky Sports subscribers can watch the golf on the go on mobile devices via Sky Go, which has dedicated apps for iOS, iPadOS and Android devices, along with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Looking to sign up? Head to Sky TV deals and packages for today's best prices. Or if you don't want to commit to a full Sky package, Now Sports Memberships offers no-contract plans starting at £14.99 for a day pass or £34.99 monthly. To access your usual streaming service from outside the U.K. you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above. The live BMW Championship action from Memphis is being shown on Fox Sports 503 on TV and Kayo Sports online in Australia. Kayo costs from $30/month, after your choice of either a 7-day free trial or first month for $1. Not in Austraila right now? Try NordVPN to unlock your domestic streams from anywhere. 9:21 a.m. – J.T. Poston9:32 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Michael Kim9:43 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Thomas Detry9:54 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Taylor Pendrith10:05 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Sam Stevens10:16 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Akshay Bhatia10:27 a.m. – Nick Taylor, Shane Lowry10:43 a.m. – Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay10:54 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Maverick McNealy11:05 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Russell Henley11:16 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy11:27 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Harris English11:38 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Rickie Fowler11:54 a.m. – Harry Hall, Jason Day12:05 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim12:16 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Denny McCarthy12:27 p.m. – Ryan Gerard, Daniel Berger12:38 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Jacob Bridgeman12:49 p.m. – Sam Burns, Sungjae Im1:05 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Robert MacIntyre1:16 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners1:27 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood1:38 p.m. – Justin Rose, J.J. Spaun1:49 p.m. – Cameron Young, Ludvig Åberg2:00 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Bud Cauley Like most PGA tournaments, the BMW Championship is played over four rounds of stroke play. Unlike some, however, there is no cut at the halfway stage. That means all players who start the tournament will play all 72 holes, with the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualifying for next week's Tour Championship. The 2025 BMW Championship field will battle it out for a share of a $20 million purse. The overall winner on Sunday will take home a top prize of $3.6 million. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
Tour Championship now offers official money and richest prize in golf with a $40 million purse
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Tour Championship now has the richest individual prize fund in golf with the PGA Tour making the FedEx Cup payoff count as official money for the first time. The total purse is $40 million, with $10 million to the winner. Since the FedEx Cup began in 2007, the bonus pool at the end of the Tour Championship was unofficial money, with part of it deferred.
