Getty Image / Eakin Howard
The golf world has been all over the place since LIV Golf came to fruition. Many flocked to watch its events when it first aired on television.
From paying professional golfers large sums of money to fancy private jets, LIV Golf seemed to be on top of the world.
However, the latest update indicates that the PGA Tour is still the king of the sport.
According to John Ourand, the ratings for LIV Golf are noticeably down.
Oof: 0.2 overnight rating for LIV golf in the 26 metered markets that carried it on CW.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) February 26, 2023
In fact, it sounds like the PGA is still dominating in viewership.
Honda rating was up over last year. 1.2 vs 0.2 for LIV. Six times as many viewers for what LIV people call a weak PGA event. Think about it. The supposed inferior product is six times more popular than your exhibition golf with has beens. LIV is DED.
— Life of Brian (@officebrian) February 26, 2023
To be fair, the “26 metered markets” is somewhat of a small sample size. Even so, it’s large enough to indicate that golf fans much prefer the PGA over LIV Golf.
Especially considering these numbers are being compared to a lesser event for the PGA.
With that said, it’s unclear what the future holds for LIV Golf. If the league hopes to remain relevant, they’ll have to come up with something fast.
The lack of star power certainly doesn’t help. As for the PGA, it’s hard to imagine many professional golfers leaving for LIV Golf. Especially the players at the top of the rankings.
On top of that, the PGA is conducting ways to increase viewership after joining forces with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in forming a team golf league.
Look for LIV Golf to potentially make some changes. Or, maybe they’ll just flaunt more money to the pro golfers to join their league. Who knows at this point?