Tour News
Olympic golf viewership numbers are in (and they are impressive)
The thrilling final-round showdown between Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson for the gold medal was a heckuva watch from a golf fan’s perspective. And it seems Olympic viewers thought so, too.
As gold-medal winner Rose said after his victory: “That felt better than anything I’ve ever won. It was the best tournament I’ve ever done. Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about. I’m glad it was close. Not for my nerves, for golf.”
Indeed, “for golf” the neck-and-neck battle returned strong early ratings.
According to Sports Media Watch and Sports Business Daily, final-round coverage from Rio garnered a 6.3 overnight rating during a 90-minute window of simulcast NBC/Golf Channel coverage.
The figure represents the second-highest number for any 90-minute segment of a golf telecast this year with only a segment of the Masters (8.5) topping it. Also notable: NBC aired the telecast on a three-hour delay in Mountain and Pacific time zones, doubtless putting downward pressure on viewership figures.
More from a Golf Channel press release
NBC and Golf Channel both provided coverage of the dramatic closing holes of the men’s Olympic golf tournament (1:12-2:49 p.m.). Aside from the final round of the Masters, this ranks as the highest-rated 90-minute window of final round golf coverage in 2016 with a combined 5.6 household rating and 8.8 million average viewers. Additionally, streaming of the men’s competition ranks second to The Open in every metric for NBC Sports’ golf events on record, including Live starts: 873,025, Live minutes: 27,463,315, Uniques: 483,616 and Visits: 692,472.
Afternoon coverage on Golf Channel (Noon-3:12 p.m. ET) earned a 1.02 household rating with 1.6 million viewers, marking the best performance in the time period for total viewers and Adults 25-54 (495,000) since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am featuring Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in February of 2012. Golf Channel coverage peaked at a 1.22 household rating and 1.845 million viewers (2:30-2:45 p.m.). Early coverage (6 a.m.-Noon) is Golf Channel’s best performance in the time period in more than eight years since the Dubai Desert Classic won by Woods in February 2008 for both total viewers (556,000) and Adults 25-54 (174,000).
It’s too early to speculate about ripple effects, and certainly cynics won’t be swayed by the numbers. But Olympic golf needed a compelling tournament with voluminous viewership.
It got both.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Mat
Aug 19, 2016 at 5:43 pm
It’s clear they went for safety the first time. In 2020, they must have a format change. I’m sure there’s plenty of time to figure it out, but whether it’s match, ryder, team, or hell even Stableford… give me something that’s not “just another week”.
talljohn777
Aug 17, 2016 at 2:15 pm
Sorry, but the format needs to change. It should have more of a team, Ryder Cup feel not the feel of just another PGA golf tournament.
Ezra
Aug 17, 2016 at 12:57 pm
So much for the golfwrx snobby readers on “golf should not be on the Olympics” blablabla. Golf is not a dying sport. Commentators on this website are. Cheers suckers!
Blake
Aug 17, 2016 at 10:22 am
Meh. Course was boring. I more watched it to see how the uneducated golf fans would react to the ball flying around.
Bert
Aug 17, 2016 at 9:49 am
So thankful for the Fast Forward function on my DVR
osssssama flys planes
Aug 17, 2016 at 6:45 am
who cares about amateur golf… most are at best useless even most of the top guys don’t end up holding a candle to the top pros. Who has any real interest in watching people who may make it when we can watch guys who have made it.
Tom
Aug 17, 2016 at 10:34 am
new to the sport are ya.
Pub
Aug 17, 2016 at 3:23 am
That’s a good start! Now the format needs revising, and IGF should borrow the US collegiate format and bring that Team aspect into it for Tokyo to make it really exciting.
RedX
Aug 16, 2016 at 7:29 pm
and that was just the US ratings folks….I’m sure the dial moved elsewhere on the planet as well. Given the disappointment re prominent players withdrawing it still looks a success. Looking forward to the Women’s event as well. It looks promising also.
John
Aug 16, 2016 at 3:48 pm
still not a fan that golf is in the olympics. there’s a golf tournament almost every weekend on the TV. and i really think that a normal strokeplay format is just wrong. i would rather watch something like a team matchplay event
Ezra
Aug 17, 2016 at 12:59 pm
Guess what. Nobody cares
golfraven
Aug 16, 2016 at 3:14 pm
Those numbers may be right for Americas but the coverage was non existent in Europe – I could not watch one minute of live golf and I have seatched my ass iut on the internet too. Please tell me the channels where I could watch the summary or interviews of players during the games? Also I could not download the official app onto my iphone and the olympics website is so poor it is a bad joke. Hope the Japanies will do a better job in 4 years. For me this was a big letdown and disappointment.
doesnotno
Aug 17, 2016 at 8:54 am
Coverage was total in the UK, BBC had an HD channel purely for the golf on all 4 days.
Ezra
Aug 17, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Wrong again. Belgium public tv broadcasts the whole event (first time in its history). Google ” Auvio ” to watch the ladies.
ooffa
Aug 16, 2016 at 2:09 pm
That was Olympic golf? I thought we were supposed to have our best players representing us. They were great players but certainly not the best. What are we thinking here in the U S of A. It looked more like the Web.com Olympics.
Tom
Aug 17, 2016 at 10:32 am
which Olympics were you watching?
Ezra
Aug 17, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Yeah I guess Americans were too snobby to care. Spoiled children…
Justin
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:28 am
I think you are going to see more top players compete in Japan in 2020. For the next 4 years Justin Rose gets to say he’s the gold medal winner. Imagine even how much more the Masters would mean if it was only played every 4 years. What I think they need to change is the reward for the winner, which is currently an exemption into all 4 major championships. The medal winners’ world ranks were 9th, 4th, and 15th respectively, so they all will be playing in all of the majors next year anyway. I think they need to award exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2 years to the winner. While playing in the majors would be great, as an up and coming player I think status would be more important to me. If you know your card is secure, you can focus on your game. Again, this year it would not have mattered, but in years to come it may be a motivational factor. Heck, maybe even extend that out to all 3 medal winners just so they MIGHT have a chance to award something.
Messico Smizzle
Aug 16, 2016 at 6:46 pm
good ideas.
Jim
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:32 pm
How ’bout actually fielding amateurs – with lengthy national ‘open’ * qualifying held that year – or starting year before? A national ‘build up’ of interest with good coverage would psych the golf community up more than anything they’ve done for this olympic debut in the last 4 years!
*Hcps would have to be STRICTLY enforced & varified to keep the bozo’s out.
Grant THOSE who make the team exemptions to stuff – Nationwide or some Tour events – whatever…Win a medal? All four majors!
that’d be pretty cool
Fredo
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:10 am
Before the Olympics started I was not interested in watching golf, but when the weekend hit I got sucked in and watched a fantastic battle between Stenson and Rose ????
Tom
Aug 17, 2016 at 10:31 am
Theres the spirit