Justin Thomas' playoff win sees highest final-round RBC Heritage viewership since 2002
Justin Thomas' playoff win sees highest final-round RBC Heritage viewership since 2002
Golf ratings are on a heater the last two weeks.
After Rory McIlroy's Masters victory produced an eye-popping viewership figure last week, Justin Thomas breaking his winless drought and capturing the RBC Heritage in a playoff Sunday had another stellar figure for CBS and the PGA Tour.
The tally: 4.36 million people tuned in to the final round at Harbour Town Golf Links, which ended in a playoff with Thomas burying a birdie putt to beat Andrew Novak. The number is a 103 percent increase over 2024, which had a weather delay during the final round and finished Monday. The figure is up 5 percent from Matt Fitzpatrick's playoff win over Jordan Spieth in 2023, which saw 4.15 million viewers.
Perhaps more impressive is how good that final-round number is.
The 4.36 million figure makes it the largest for an RBC final round since 2002. For the weekend, CBS averaged 3.3 million viewers, up from 62 percent in 2024, per Josh Carpenter with Sports Business Journal. Carpenter also noted the early-round coverage on Golf Channel drew 536K viewers, a record for the event.
2024 was not a strong year for golf ratings, but the trend this year has been a rebound closer to what figures have been in the past, or in the case of the last two weeks, some of the highest totals in recent years.
Will the trend continue as the season progresses? Only time will tell.
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USA Today
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It's in the blood, for sure. 'When we moved to Middletown, my dad put this small green in the backyard,' Ryan said. 'My brother (also named Mark) would sometimes practice with me and make up leaderboards for all four majors. I remember us doing the 'U.S. Open' a lot. Now I'll be on the real leaderboard and he won't have to create a fake leaderboard for me to compete on.' Dream big. That's Ryan McCormick's advice anyone growing up in the Garden State who might have a future in golf. 'I always believed in myself, but there were plenty of times as a junior and even in high school when I got my butt kicked, and I just kept working,' he said. 'Just know that between Chris and I and Max Greyserman (a Short Hills native who also qualified), it shows that if your dreams are to play on the PGA Tour, you're in the right spot. Just keep working on it.' Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@
Yahoo
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