9 Golf Viewership Statistics That Drive The Industry

One of the world’s most-watched sports is golf. Despite the absence of screaming fans and action-packed scenes, this stroke of a play still manages to draw viewers across America and Europe.

The 2023 Masters peaked at approximately 15 million viewers between 7:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. EST, with an average of around 12.06 million viewers during the match.

Find out how golf viewership statistics change over time and why despite being a sport for the elite, it still maintains its vast fanbase attracting all age brackets.

Highlights of the Article

• ADT reached 423 million viewers in the APAC region broadcasting through 27 sports channels.
• LIV is up for a good start; its TV debut recorded average viewers of less than 300,000.
• 16.251 million combined total viewers tuned in to The Masters 2023 Finals.
• 15% of women watch golf sometimes or often as of mid-2022
• In 2022, LIV golf piqued the interest of 71% of people aged 18-34.
• Mid- to high-income individuals make up 74% of golf viewers.
• PGA Tour 2023 saw a 31% increase in social media engagement.
• 2.9 viewer ratings in U.S. Open Finals 2022, a record low for U.S. Open since 1988.

How Many People Watch Golf?

Jon Rahm’s victory recorded 15.02 million viewers during the 2023 PGA Masters Tournament at Augusta. On average, there were 12 million people who watched the finals; this is a 19% bump in the 2022 Masters Finals, where Scottie Scheffler won.

The CW Network reported that the average number of viewers for the LIV Golf 2023 was under 300,000. This is low compared to the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic finals broadcasted the same day on NBC, which averaged 2.38 million viewers.

The following section will give you insights into viewership statistics of golfing events. It will explain the factors driving these numbers and their significance to the tournament and the broadcasting networks.

Golf Viewership Statistic Worldwide

Golf is among the world’s most popular sports, with approximately 450 million fans. The sport is most prevalent in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the North American region.

Below are global stats on golf viewership to help you identify where the sport is most followed.

1. ADT 2022 broadcast reached 423 million viewers in the APAC region.

(Danang Leisure, AB Magazine)

Golf’s popularity in Asia is on the rise. Asian Development Tour has been held since 2010, only temporarily stopping during the pandemic. In 2022, ADT was expected to set 19 tournaments held in:

• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Brunei
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Pakistan
• Taiwan
• Thailand

It was expected that around 140 professional golfers would participate in the competition. The tour was broadcast on 27 local and international sports channels, reaching:

• 423 million viewers in the APAC region
• 380 million worldwide viewers.

One of the critical factors in the rise of the popularity of golf in the region is that Asian consumers start to turn to leisure activities as they get richer. The number of courses tripled in less than a decade in China alone.

2. The PGA Tour 2023 recorded over 1.7 million audiences more than LIV Golf.

(The Athletic)

LIV had its TV debut this year. In its second season, held at Mayakoba, almost 300,000 watched the tournament on CW. That amount is just a seventh of viewers of the weekend broadcast of the PGA Tour on NBC, with 2.4 million viewers.

Despite the big gap, LIV’s first broadcast showed a promising start. Although it may take some time for LIV’s viewership and ratings to be at par with PGA, LIV and CW’s partnership shows excellent potential.

CW ranked 25th in the US in 2022 with 574,000 average daily viewers after the changes in management and to its original programming, focused on teens and young-adult.

3. The Masters 2023 toppled PGA Tours and LIV by averaging over 12 million viewers.

(Sportskeeda)

During over five hours of broadcast, The Masters reached 16.25 million combined total viewers. The final round peaked at over 15 million viewers between 7:00-7:15 p.m. EST and averaged 12.06 viewers.

Golf Viewer Demographic Statistic

People refer to golf as the “Rich Man’s Sport.” This is due to the costs linked with playing. The sporting gear and equipment, membership fees, and even travel to golf courses will cost you a fortune.

Being dominated by male adult athletes, viewer demographics are leaning toward more middle-aged mid-to-high-income adult men. But, with the increase in female athletes and younger generations taking an interest in the sport, viewer trends are shifting.

Explore the profile of golf fanatics and see how the dominance of a particular group, based on demographics, affects viewership.

4. Only 15% of women watch golf sometimes or often as of June 2022.

(Statistica, National Golf Foundation)

Between 2019-2022, the number of women playing golf increased by 15%. Despite the increase of women playing golf, viewership is still predominantly men.

For respondents that answered often or sometimes, males make up 66%, while females are only 34%. This is consistent with the number of players, where 77% are male.

5. 71% of ages 18-34 followed LIV Golf in 2022.

(The Bay State Banner)

Non-traditional tournaments like exhibitions and LIV golf thrive in the younger generation. 71% of the respondents, aged 18-34, follow LIV Golf.

Meanwhile, PGA’s rating in the same age bracket is dwindling. 80% of Gen Zs claim that they do not like golf at all. Only 18% of those aged 18-34 consider themselves casual fans.

All sports attract this age bracket. As the younger generation takes over, sports organizations must capture their attention. This is to ensure that the industry will continue.

6. Golf viewers with an annual income of 70,000 and above make up 74% of the audience.

(Wichita State University)

Many of the world’s wealthiest are known to be golfers. Though this does not directly impact the income level of fans and viewers, 74% were discovered to be earning mid-to high-income.

Of the total respondents:

• 22.2% have an average income of $70,000-$99,999
• 37.9% have an average income of $100,000-$199,000
• 14% have an average income of $200,000 or more

Golf Viewership Statistic by Year

The number of fans watching golf fluctuates year-on-year. Tiger Wood’s winning match in 1997 reached 44 million viewers, the most-watched game ever recorded.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Masters peaked at 15.021 million between 7:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. ET, with an average of approximately 12 million viewers.

Take a look at the number of viewers in the major tournaments year-on-year.

7. Viewership for the PGA tour sees a 31% uptick in social media engagement in 2023.

(Front Office Sports)

PGA Tour viewership has seen an uplift of numbers across the board this year, with social media having the highest uptick by 31%. Other channels reported:

• 15% increase – Golf Channel
• 4% increase – CBS
• 19% increase – Masters Finals
• 3% increase – NBC

This shows that support from fans of the PGA Tour is increasing yearly.

8. U.S. Open 2022 recorded a 2.9 rating, the lowest since 1988.

(The Spun)

9.2 million tuned in during Matt Fitzpatrick’s final hole, the highest viewership of the U.S. Open championship since 2013.

Ratings crashed to 2.9, a record low since the 1988 U.S. Open Championship. Despite this, the tournament is still the fourth most-watched event in 2022. The top 3 most-watched matches in 2022 are:

1. PGA Championship (Final round)
2. Masters (Third round)
3. Masters (Final round)

9. US TV Networks recorded a 16% increase in total audience delivery during the Open Championship in 2022.

(NBC Sports)

150th Open Championship reached Total Audience Delivery of 2.5 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock. This sets a 16% increase in TAD in 2021 and a 27% increase in 2019.

The 2022 Open Championship is the most-streamed golf event in NBC Sports history. Streaming reached 262 million minutes for all rounds.

The four rounds of the event were the most-watched sports event on their respective days. The finals averaged a TAD of 4.725 million viewers, a 12% increase from 2021, and peaked from 1:30-1:45 p.m. ET with more than 7.1 million viewers.

Bottomline

The statistics show that Golf is not just famous for the elite but is still steadily growing in players, fans, and viewership.

The Asian region shows a significant increase in people interested in the sport. Events such as LIV Golf help gain younger viewers. The challenge lies in enticing more women, younger people, and lower-income people to participate in the sport as viewers or players. 

Golf viewers and players have been predominantly mid to high-income men for years. It is essential to reach a broader market to increase viewership and keep the sport alive.