youtube liv tour golf

• New tour for women pros launches in England
• LIV Golf withdraws application to receive world ranking points
• PGA Tour unveils 'golden handcuffs' payout to reward loyal players
• Luton Hoo's hopes of hosting Ryder Cup move a step closer

LIV Golf Invitational to be live-streamed on YouTube

Will Staeger, LIV Golf’s Chief Media Officer, said: “The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before. The innovations we are introducing to the sport will be distributed to existing and new audiences all over the world as we deliver golf coverage dedicated to entertainment and access. We’ve built a world-class production team that has combined the industry’s best practices with a reimagined experience for viewers to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast. We’ve been counting down the days to Thursday’s start so fans can tune in and watch what we have been working on.”

The field for the 48-man tournament added five more names yesterday following the conclusion of the Asian Tour’s International Series event at Slaley Hall. Viraj Madappa (IND), Kevin Yuan (AUS), Travis Smyth (AUS), Ian Snyman (South Africa) and Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat will all be teeing it up at Centurion having qualified from the cumulative International Series Order of Merit .

With 47 players now confirmed, one place remains to be announced to complete the field.

How to watch the first LIV Golf event in London from the US this week

• The Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series will host its first event this week.
• While LIV Golf has yet to secure a broadcast partner, fans can follow the action online.
• Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson headline the field for the league's inaugural tournament.

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series will finally host its first event this week at the Centurion Club just outside of London.

A field of 48 players, headlined by Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson , will battle for one of the richest purses in the history of golf. The event has adopted a team format with the 12 captains taking part in a draft, which took place earlier in the week .

Related stories

The competition tees off on Thursday with a shotgun start, kicking off three rounds of action at 9 a.m. ET.

While the first LIV Golf event won't be shown on television in the US, fans hoping to check out the tournament can do so on YouTube , Facebook, or through LIVGolf.com , according to the site .

Leading the broadcast team for the new league will be commentator Arlo White, who American fans might know from his years as one of the voices of the English Premier League. Former Golf Channel commentator Jerry Foltz will serve as an analyst, and Asian Tour broadcaster Dom Boulet is set to fill-out the three-man booth.

In addition to Mickelson and Johnson, former PGA Tour pros, including Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch, Lee Westwood, Kevin Na, and Louis Oosthuizen, will be competing for the $25 million event purse. The winner's share is set for $4 million. By contrast, the champion of the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open, also teeing off Thursday, will earn around $1.3 million, and the winners of the last two majors — Scottie Scheffler, at the Masters, and Justin Thomas, at the PGA Championship — earned $2.7 mi lion for their victories.

Meanwhile, since LIV Golf doesn't feature a cut after two rounds, the player who finishes dead last is still set to walk away from the event pocketing $120,000. At last week's Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour, players needed to finish tied for 18th to make that kind of money.

• Main content

LIV Golf Two Years In... Success Or Failure?

How has LIV Golf performed since its inception? Is there cause for optimism or has the Saudi-backed league been a disappointment so far?

• Sign up to Golf Monthly Newsletter Newsletter

The LIV Golf League recently finished its second season, with Talor Gooch topping the individual standings after a highly impressive campaign and Crushers GC scooping the team prize, but how many people watched LIV in 2023? It has been the most disruptive golfing venture for a generation, but away from the controversy, how well is the product itself faring? Are fans engaging with the start-up circuit or merely immersing themselves in the social media soap opera? 

It’s important to note that success akin to what the ‘established’ tours experience simply isn’t realistic. As a new venture, LIV doesn’t have the history and tradition that the PGA and DP World Tours can boast. It’s all new; there are no memories of fantastic finishes and experiences from yesteryear. Some courses hosted LIV for the first time in 2023 and the success of those stagings can only really be measured by how many people return in subsequent years. 

It’s not fair to expect LIV to be able to compete with events like the BMW PGA Championship or the Players Championship straight off the bat. Building interest is a time-consuming process and there are no shortcuts. As an example, The Masters really struggled in its early years. Getting patrons through the door was a serious challenge. 

Considering all the above, then, how has LIV fared over its first two years? It’s actually quite hard to get an objective picture of things – with regard to both television viewership and event attendance – as the data isn’t readily available, but we do have some things to go off.

Crushers GC won the team prize in 2023

What does the data say?

In America, the CW Network broadcasts LIV Golf. While it reportedly got off to a good start , with more than three million ‘total’ viewers across all platforms at the season-opening Mexico event, the decision was taken in March to stop publishing figures – a perhaps surprising move given LIV’s chief media officer, Will Staeger, told Golf.com in January that viewing figures would “certainly” be reported.

As a means of comparison, the PGA Tour averages around two million viewers per week. A Sports Business Journal article put the average Sunday audience of the LIV Mayakoba event at 291,000, while the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour averaged 2.42 million viewers [note: Golf Monthly has contacted LIV and the CW Network for data].

It’s also important to note that obtaining accurate viewership data in the USA is complicated and nebulous, making it hard to get a clear picture. However, organisations like to talk about their successes, especially ones that are trying to disrupt a market and looking for any positive PR spin. I think it’s a reasonable assumption that LIV would be shouting about viewership if there was anything to shout about. 

Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter

Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.

Moreover, LIV isn’t available to watch on television in the UK. Yes, you can view the action through the website, the LIV Golf + app – which is very good – and YouTube, but there’s no doubt the lack of a mainstream broadcaster has hampered the circuit’s attempts to grow in Britain. 

There have been more recent reports of encouraging viewing figures in America via some monitoring platforms, and that, combined with solid attendance at numerous LIV events, clearly indicates there’s some demand.

We asked LIV for comment on attendance figures and were told that more than 77,000 people went through the gate at LIV Adelaide, while “LIV Golf’s events in DC and Tulsa set records for highest attended in the US since the league’s inception in June of 2022”. We don’t have specific numbers for the American events, and even if we did, it would be hard to benchmark them against the PGA Tour due to limited data. 

We know the Waste Management Phoenix Open attracted more than 700,000 people in 2023, but that’s by no means representative of a normal PGA Tour event. The Players Championship, meanwhile, recorded 173,975 fans in 2023 , but again, that’s not a fair comparison. The Honda Classic, not one of the strongest events on the PGA Tour schedule, reportedly sees over 200,000 spectators each year . 

Capturing the imagination?

We wanted to see what interest in LIV looked like among our own social followers, so in a poll on X (formerly Twitter), we asked: ‘How much LIV Golf did you watch this season?’. The options were ‘every event’, ‘some events’, ‘occasionally watch’ or ‘didn’t watch a shot’. 

Some 50% of respondents said they didn’t watch a single shot. Only 10% watched every event, 28% watched some events and 12% said they occasionally tuned in. And before anyone thinks such a poll is meaningless owing to sample size, consider the fact that 12,521 people voted. That means 6,385 people with an interest in golf didn’t watch a shot of the LIV Golf League in 2023.

What’s fascinating about this result is the fact the percentage of people who didn’t watch a single shot was 83% at 8pm on Monday night (the poll ran from 10.41am UK time on Monday October 23 to 10.41am on Tuesday October 24). That could suggest more interest in places like America as the poll appeared in US timelines throughout the course of the day. This backs up the hypothesis that far more people watch LIV in the USA.

We also asked the same questions about the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. Unsurprisingly, the latter came out on top in terms of interest. Almost 75% of respondents said they either watch every event or some events, while only 4% said they hadn’t watched a single shot. On the DP World Tour, only 7% said they watch every event, but 44% voted for some events and 32% said they occasionally watch. Some 17% hadn’t watched a single shot. 

How much LIV Golf did you watch this season? October 23, 2023

Is it suitably different?

So what explains the above figures? I’m not about to launch into the well-trodden moral tirade here as I don’t think it’s as relevant as some other factors. I’m sure there are some who have eschewed LIV on virtuous grounds, but not many. There are presumably millions of people who object to Saudi Arabia’s foothold in sport but continue to watch Newcastle United, Anthony Joshua’s boxing fights in the Kingdom and F1 races in Jeddah. I think the main reason for the comparative lack of interest is the product itself. 

My first question is whether it’s offering something suitably different to the norm. When you strip back the colourful graphics, animated commentary, loud music and shotgun starts – most of which contrast to ‘regular’ tour golf – it’s just strokeplay action. Yes, events are played over 54 holes, but there’s still a first round and a final round. 

LIV is actually on to something with the Team Championship , where the quarter-finals and semi-finals involve two teams playing each other in a mix of singles and foursomes matches. Interestingly, the top-ranked teams can choose their opponents at each stage, which certainly adds some intrigue. However, while it’s great to watch superstars like Bryson , DJ , Cam Smith and Talor Gooch in action, the excitement is nullified somewhat by the fact their teams are comprised of players like Pat Perez, Peter Uihlein, Anirban Lahiri and Jediah Morgan. The top-heavy nature of the circuit is problematic.

Another significant issue is the season-long team element simply isn’t powerful enough to generate much interest, either throughout the year or ahead of the final. It’s something we polled our X followers about. We asked ‘Does the team element of LIV Golf make you more interested/likely to watch’ and 87% voted no. And it’s hardly surprising. The cynic would say it’s just another way for already rich players to make more money without any real jeopardy. Perhaps the situation would be different with a higher calibre of player across the board. 

On that subject, the 48-man fields are worth mentioning. Limited-player events can be tricky, especially when a good proportion of those involved are well past their best. There’s no doubting the world-class credentials of some LIV players, but others are nowhere near being categorised as such. 

And, what’s more, team captains can’t be relegated from the league, which means Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer – neither of whom finished above 17th in any event all season – will be back next year. That doesn’t do much to dispel the ‘exhibition’ arguments frequently levelled at the tour. Indeed, ten of the 50 players who competed on LIV in 2023 didn’t notch a single top-ten finish.

Looking to the future

So, what next? There’s not been any clarity since the shock announcement in June of the merger between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund, but it seems almost certain that LIV will continue. Ian Poulter , Phil Mickelson and others have spoken about how their phones are ringing with people interested in joining LIV. If more top players come over, it’s hard to argue LIV wouldn’t capture the attention of more golf fans.  

Even the most ardent objector would surely concede LIV is doing some things right, and given what we’ve heard, there is cause for optimism around the trajectory of the circuit. But a lot of that depends on hypotheticals and unknowns. The PGA and DP World Tours certainly aren’t immune from criticism, either, and it’ll be fascinating to see if all three can co-exist in the post-merger world. 

As a final poll question, we asked: “Overall, has LIV Golf exceeded your expectations as a product?” and 87% said it hadn’t. Some X users are undoubtedly prone to hyperbole and conditioned to taking polarising viewpoints, but that figure is notable. What it looks like after the 2024 season is anyone’s guess.  

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email [email protected] with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver:  TaylorMade M1  Fairway wood:  TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2  Hybrid:  Ping Crossover  Irons (4-9):  Nike Vapor Speed  Wedges:  Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚  Putter:  testing in progress!  Ball:  TaylorMade TP5x

The two-time Major champion missed the cut at the Chevron Championship in what is her last tournament as a professional

By Ben Fleming Published 20 April 24

Jin Hee Im and Atthaya Thitikul share the lead at eight-under-par, but World No.1, Nelly Korda, is only one shot back of the pair

By Matt Cradock Published 20 April 24

• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Accessibility statement
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Golf Monthly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

As golf’s civil war rages, all the top PGA Tour and LIV players are at the Masters this week

Jon Rahm, of Spain, walks to the 10th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Brooks Koepka hands over his club on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Bryson DeChambeau hands his driver to his caddie on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, reacts on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, and Nicolai Hojgaard, of Denmark, walk onto the 12th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Brooks Koepka, from left, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay hits on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

• Copy Link copied

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — In some ways, golf finds itself at a point in time not unlike pro football in the 1960s, when two rival leagues duked it out but found a path to reconciliation that produced a game far bigger than anyone could’ve envisioned.

Bryson DeChambeau, for one, is hopeful that the still-smoldering split between the established PGA Tour and upstart LIV Golf could lead to a Super Bowl-like extravaganza that brings everyone together.

“You can look at it like the NFL and you could have NFC-AFC sort of working in their own fields and at the end they come together, put on a huge event at the end of the year,” said DeChambeau, who plays on the LIV circuit. “That could be really cool.”

If nothing else, major championships such as the Masters , which begins Thursday at Augusta National, provide a brief detente in this civil war of the links.

All the top players — from reigning Master champion Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka representing Team LIV to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy teeing it up for the old guard — will be looking to not only claim a green jacket, but score bragging rights for their de facto team.

“Obviously, the more togetherness that you get, the better it is for everyone. There’s no doubt about that,” said Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner who bolted for LIV. “But there’s room for everyone. I don’t think that’s a problem at all.”

Even though LIV appears to have strengthened its hand with its stunning signing of Rahm , who was on the PGA Tour when he won at Augusta a year ago, there are actually five fewer players from the new tour than the 18 who played in 2023.

That’s largely because LIV events — with their smaller fields and 54-hole format — do not receive world ranking points, one of the main conduits for entry into the Masters.

Still, the Saudi-funded circuit has demonstrated that its top players can compete with the best of the PGA Tour.

Koepka and Phil Mickelson were runner-ups to Rahm a year ago at the Masters, and Koepka went on to capture his fifth career major title at the PGA Championship . Of the 27 major championships that have been staged since the beginning of 2017, 13 were won by golfers who now call LIV home.

Koepka took issue with those who say the split is ruining the game.

“Look, the best players in the world never got together week in, week out. I think that’s kind of forgotten,” Koepka said Tuesday. “It was the majors, (World Golf Championship tournaments) ... those were pretty much the 10 events where everyone was, for sure, going to be there. And then it was just kind of sprinkled in everywhere else. I think that’s kind of how it is” now.

But hard feelings remain, especially since a supposed merger agreement announced 10 months ago had yet to be finalized.

Just listen to Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion and outspoken critic of LIV.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” he said. “Now, everything can get better. But let me tell you, if the LIV tour is better for golf, I’m missing something there.”

Rahm acknowledged that when he accepted a reported $350 million offer to join LIV in December, he was hopeful that it would spur the two sides to reach some sort of reconciliation by the time the Masters rolled around.

Now, with a divide that seems as gaping as ever, he’s one of the most prominent faces on a tour that has been called everything from the future of the game — with its shotgun starts and team element — to a refuge of sellouts who are helping the Saudis sportswash the image of a repressive regime.

“It’s a bit of a detour on my path,” Rahm said. “But change can be better.”

Just how much things have changed was apparent from the attire he donned a year ago as he departed Augusta National to what he picked out for his practice rounds leading into this Masters.

Gone was the green jacket. Now he’s wearing a shirt emblazoned with a Legion XIII logo.

The team he now leads in LIV.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Rory McIlroy shoots down LIV Golf rumors, pledges PGA Tour commitment

Rory McIlroy maintains he's sticking with the PGA Tour following a report that LIV Golf offered him $850 million and an ownership stake to join the league.

"I honestly don't know how these things get started. I've never been offered a number from LIV and I've never contemplated going to LIV," McIlroy told Golf Channel.

"I think I've made it clear over the past two years that I don't think it's something for me. Doesn't mean that I judge people that have went and played over there — I think one of the things that I've realized over the past two years is people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves and who are we to judge them for that? But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour and it's never been any different."

McIlroy doubled down on his commitment to the PGA Tour, saying he will spend the rest of his career with it.

"Over the last two years there's been so many rumors of guys — I think the one thing I've realized as well ... guys need to keep an open mind. I'm sure there's been players that are still playing on the PGA Tour that have talked to the guys from LIV and had offers and whatever. .... It's never even been a conversation for us.

"It's one of those things. It's unfortunate that we have to deal with it and this is the state that our game's in. But I'm obviously here today and I'm playing this PGA Tour event next week and I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career."

McIlroy's agent said there was "zero truth" to the rumors and labeled them as "fake news."

The four-time major champ had been one of LIV Golf's more vocal critics since its inception, going so far as to say last year that, "If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire." McIlroy's stance on the Saudi-funded tour appears to have softened somewhat in recent months, however.

"I wouldn't say I've lost the fight against LIV, but I've just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now," McIlroy said in January .

He added then he was "maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods' position."

He echoed many of those comments while speaking Tuesday with Golf Channel. His personal commitment to the PGA Tour, though, appears to remain firm.

Leaderboard

Asia Tour remains an option for LIV golfers looking for ranking points

• Medium Text

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Reporting by Steve Keating in Augusta. Editing by Christian Radnedge

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Team Europe captain Luke Donald has named Denmark's Thomas Bjorn as his second vice-captain on Tuesday for next year's Ryder Cup, which will be played in New York.

Sports Chevron

Swiatek's Stuttgart hat-trick bid ended by Rybakina, Kostyuk into final

World number one Iga Swiatek's bid to win a third successive Stuttgart Open title came to an end in an enthralling 6-3 4-6 6-3 semi-final loss to Elena Rybakina on Saturday.

The eighth-seeded Miami Heat will be in a familiar position when they go on the road to open their Eastern Conference first-round series against the top-seeded Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon.

Rory McIlroy says his ‘future’ is with PGA Tour after report of LIV offer

Responding to a report that he was “close” to a big-money deal with LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy said Tuesday that there was no truth to it and that he has never received an offer from the three-year-old venture.

“I’ll play the PGA Tour the rest of my career,” McIlroy declared.

In an interview with Golf Channel while in Hilton Head Island, S.C., for this week’s Heritage tournament, McIlroy also reiterated his desire to see the PGA Tour and LIV find a way for their players to face each other more often. One of those rare occasions unfolded last week at the Masters, where defending champion Jon Rahm played against his former PGA Tour colleagues for the first time since defecting to LIV.

Rahm is thought to have received a contract worth well into nine figures to join the Saudi Arabia-backed league. According to a report Sunday from City A.M. , a business-focused media platform based in London, McIlroy was offered $850 million to leave the PGA Tour.

City A.M. reported that McIlroy also was offered 2 percent equity in LIV. The 34-year-old native of Northern Ireland, who has softened his stance on LIV after initially being its most vocal critic among PGA players, said Tuesday he did not “know how these things get started.”

“I’ve never been offered a number from LIV, and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV,” he said. “Again, I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me.

“It doesn’t mean that I judge people who have went and played over there,” McIlroy continued. “I think one of the things that I have realized over the past two years is people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves, and who are we to judge them for that?”

Exclusive: Rory McIlroy tells @ToddLewisGC that LIV Golf rumors are false and, "I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career." Tune into Golf Today at 5 p.m. EDT for more. pic.twitter.com/PIPAWMIWGh — Golf Central (@GolfCentral) April 16, 2024

The PGA Tour in June announced plans to partner with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund , which owns LIV Golf. But the circuits are still conducting their business separately. A Dec. 31 deadline for details to be ratified was extended as talks continue, but amid little sign of a deal, players from both sides have expressed concern that golf fans are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the current state of affairs.

After McIlroy said recently that it was “unsustainable” for golf’s highest level to run on parallel tracks, LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau asserted that an alliance between the circuits needed to happen “quicker rather than later just for the good of the sport.”

With 13 LIV players participating in the Masters, DeChambeau had the lead after the first round and finished tied for sixth with another LIV star, Cameron Smith. They were among just eight players to post a total score below par in a tournament won convincingly by the PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler, who was described Tuesday by McIlroy as “hands down the best player in the game right now.”

Of the rival circuit’s roster, McIlroy told Golf Channel that there were “obviously some really good players on LIV who would be a great addition to the field this week [at Hilton Head], and they’re not here, and that’s unfortunate.”

“I think the game is way better with all of us together,” he added.

In February 2022, after DeChambeau and some other big-name golfers pledged loyalty to the PGA Tour, McIlroy said LIV Golf was “dead in the water.” The start-up league launched that year and steadily pilfered prominent players, then made a statement about its possible staying power by luring Rahm in December. Less than a month later, McIlroy said LIV was “part of our sport now,” and in February his former agent suggested McIlroy’s changed public stance could be a precursor to a big-money move to the league. Asked about that then, McIlroy said with a chuckle, “You never know — he might know a few things.”

On Tuesday, McIlroy struck an emphatic note about where he intended to play golf.

“My future is here on the PGA Tour,” he said.

• Rory McIlroy says his ‘future’ is with PGA Tour after report of LIV offer 2 hours ago Rory McIlroy says his ‘future’ is with PGA Tour after report of LIV offer 2 hours ago
• As women’s sports boom, the LPGA’s first major is swelling its purse April 16, 2024 As women’s sports boom, the LPGA’s first major is swelling its purse April 16, 2024
• Scottie Scheffler’s game is pure, but his mind is his ‘superpower’ April 15, 2024 Scottie Scheffler’s game is pure, but his mind is his ‘superpower’ April 15, 2024

RBC Heritage

Harbour Town Golf Links

Masters 2024: Early TV ratings are up at Augusta, which means more than you think

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The 2024 Masters was always going to be a litmus test of sorts for tour pros from the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League to see how their games compared the first time they would be competing together in the same event. More intriguing, perhaps, was how the Masters might also serve as checkpoint for fan interest in the game, one that in recent months has seemed to sour as the schism in pro golf between the two rivals lingers with no resolution in immediate sight.

Judging by the early ratings from Augusta National, there would appear to a notable appetite for reconciliation. ESPN reported that its Thursday’s broadcast of the Masters earned the highest opening-round ratings since 2015. According to the network, the broadcast averaged 3.2 million viewers during its 3 p.m. to 8:06 p.m. ET coverage window (extended through to sunset and the stoppage of play after the round was delayed 2½ hours at the start), up 28 percent from 2023. The peak audience was 3.8 million. By comparison, last year’s first round averaged 2.5 million.

A day later, ESPN reported that Friday's second-round average was 3.6 million, up 69 percent from 2023. The audience peaked at 3.9 million viewers at around 5:30 p.m., roughly the time Tiger Woods finished Round 2. The combined two-day average of 3.4 million viewers was the best for the Masters since 2018.

The numbers come in the wake of several PGA Tour events seeing ratings declines in the first three months of 2024. Viewership of the final round of the WM Phoenix Open in February dropped 35 percent compared to 2023. That was followed by a 30 percent decrease for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events. Meanwhile, despite a dramatic finish with Scottie Scheffler charging back to repeat as the champion, the Players Championship saw a 15 percent drop for all four rounds of coverage.

Explanations over why there's been a viewership decrease—despite participation numbers in the sport increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic—have centered primarily around the theory that fans have become fed up with the friction in the men’s game that lingers as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf remain rivals.

“People are just sick of the narrative in golf being about, you know, contracts on LIV, purses on the tour,” said Peter Malnati, a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board who recently traveled to the Bahamas and participated in a meeting with PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. “They want to see sport, they want to see people who are the best in the world at what they do, do it at a high level and celebrate that, celebrate the athleticism, celebrate the achievement.”

In December, Jon Rahm became the latest marquee player to jump from the PGA Tour to LIV, joining Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith among recent major champions playing for LIV and thus no longer competing in PGA Tour events. Rahm’s move prevented him from defending his title in three early season tour events, an absence that amplified the tension as the two sides seem to be in a stalemate regarding whether come together as part of the newly created PGA Tour Enterprises.

When asked about the decline in ratings on the PGA Tour during his Wednesday pre-tournament press conference, Masters chairman Fred Ridley acknowledged that the friction caused by the split in the men’s pro game could be creating an apathy issue.

“It’s certainly one possibility,” Ridley said. “Certainly, the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often is not helpful. Whether or not there’s a direct causal effect, I don’t know. But I think that it would be a lot better if they were together more often.”

Whether Thursday’s rise can be sustained is unclear. Last year’s final-round ratings for Rahm's victory on CBS averaged 12.06 million viewers, a 19-percent boost from 2022. It’s a high bar to hit. But if it happens, it would seem viewers might be sending a message about their interest in the two sides settling their feud and coming together again.

MORE GOLF DIGEST MASTERS COVERAGE

Masters 101: Answering all your frequently asked question

How to watch the 2024 Masters

Power Rankings: Every player in the Masters field, ranked

50 defining Masters Moments, ranked

The bogey golfer’s guide to surviving Augusta National

5 shots that players should NEVER hit at Augusta National

15 people who ended up in the Masters penalty box

The most memorable Rules issues in Masters history

In search of the greatest Augusta National

The Masters’ other jackets: Why working tournament week has its perks

The greatest Masters round time has forgotten

The Champions Dinner Tell-All, from those inside the room

More from Golf Digest

Trending now.