Does the PGA Tour have its swagger back? 

After the inception of LIV Golf in 2022, ratings began to dip. But this season, television numbers are back on the upswing, with CBS having its highest-rated PGA Tour season since 2018. 

The network’s weekend coverage averaged 2.969 million people per tournament in 2025, up 17% from last year. And 14 of the 19 final-round telecasts saw a year-over-year ratings jump. 

And for good measure, the last time Tiger Woods played a full schedule was in 2019.

Last week’s Wyndham Championship, meanwhile, pulled in 1.9 million viewers for Cam Young’s maiden win, despite it being a runaway victory. That’s up 36% from Aaron Rai’s triumph in 2024. 

PGA Tour golf this season hasn’t lacked drama or big-time champions. There was Rory McIlroy’s win at Pebble Beach in January, which saw a 48% ratings increase from last year, Ludvig Aberg’s come-from-behind victory at the Genesis Invitational, Russell Henley’s late eagle chip-in at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (drawing 22% more viewers from last year), Justin Thomas’s playoff win at the RBC Heritage and dramatic playoffs at the John Deere Classic and Rocket Classic, both yielding ratings bumps. 

Also, the Players Championship on NBC, the Tour's flagship event, averaged 3.6 million people despite a lengthy weather delay on Sunday.  But the three-hole Monday playoff saw 1.5 million tune in at 9 a.m. ET, the second-highest weekday total on Golf Channel in 20 years, only behind Friday of the 2021 Ryder Cup (that includes the first and second rounds of nearly every Tour event). 

Three of the four majors also drew big audiences. The final round of the Masters, where McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam, peaked at 19 million people, making it the most-watched since 2018. Plus, Scottie Scheffler’s PGA Championship triumph on CBS averaged 4.76 million, down 4% from last year, but up 5% from 2023. However, Scheffler’s runaway British Open win on NBC had 4.1 million viewers, up 21% from last season. The U.S. Open saw a ratings decline, but that can partly be attributed to a final-round weather delay. 

The remaining three Tour events, all of which are part of the FedExCup playoffs, will be on NBC. Can the Tour end its successful year on a high note?


This article was originally published on www.si.com as PGA Tour Has Most-Watched Season on CBS in Seven Years.

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