According to popular consensus, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are drawing significant attention to the PGA Tour with their recent wins. McIlroy’s career Grand Slam win garnered a staggering 12.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched Masters round since 2018. JT celebrated his first win in three years at the RBC Heritage, which attracted an impressive 4.36 million viewers—the largest audience for the event since 2002. However, veteran announcer Mike Tirico attributes these remarkable numbers to the Tour’s rival rather than the golfers.
Recently, Mike Tirico sat down for an interview on The Smylie Show to discuss Rory McIlroy‘s Grand Slam, the Ryder Cup, and the 2025 season, including Justin Thomas’s letter to his fellow Tour players. Remember when Justin Thomas wrote a letter to his fellow Tour players encouraging them to engage more frequently with the media? Thomas expressed concerns about golfers’ lack of accessibility to the PGA Tour’s media partners, emphasizing the need to “better connect with fans.” Kaufman brought up this event and asked Tirico, “Do you feel like for golf media, JT going and saying this to the players, you know… how important is that for the product moving forward?” But Tirico acknowledged LIV Golf’s presence instead of JT’s request.
Tirico replied, “Let me start by saying this, I-I think golf has come a long way in a short period of time right? Walk and talk interviews. Walk and talk with a reporter. Walk and talk with the booth with AirPods in. I never thought we’d see that. Like four years ago it’s ‘No way,’ right? Interviews with guys when they arrive, all those things. What LIV has done is… LIV has opened up this reality that we’re now in a competitive space. If you’re the PGA Tour, you got to get better. You can’t just stay the same.” You see, Mike Tirico’s observations aren’t entirely wrong.
For instance, this season, the Tour updated its guidelines to grant additional rights for social media content to various stakeholders, including tournaments, title sponsors, host organizations, media partners, content creators, and select endemic brands. These changes primarily focus on practice rounds and pro-ams. In 2024, the PGA Tour introduced moving drone tracer technology at the Travelers Championship for better telecast for the viewers, with some claiming it was a first for the sport. However, fans quickly pointed out that LIV Golf had already implemented this technology, leading to accusations of the Tour copying its rival. However, it is undoubtable that both the leagues are trying their best to tap into younger audiences with the help of influencers.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are trying to reach a younger audience
Consider the 2024 Creator Classic; this influencer-driven event garnered over 2.6 million views on YouTube and engaged nearly 60 million fans across various social media platforms. Fast forward to 2025, and LIV Golf’s The Duels attracted over 1 million views within just 24 hours, surpassing the PGA Tour’s first Creator Classic of the season. In contrast, it took the Creator Classic nearly three weeks to reach that same milestone. A significant factor behind LIV Golf’s success in viewership on social media is its partnerships with popular YouTube golf content creators.
For example, LIV Golf has established a multi-year partnership with Rick Shiels Media. As the world’s most-followed golf content creator with nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers, Shiels now serves as a LIV Golf ambassador, producing exclusive content at all 14 LIV Golf League events. Additionally, another well-known YouTuber, Grant Horvat, frequently collaborates with popular golfers, including LIV star Phil Mickelson.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour, initially slower to embrace the influencer trend, is now actively pursuing a multi-faceted strategy to engage with golf content creators and reach new audiences. Its Creator Council includes notable figures like Paige Spiranac, Bob Does Sports, and No Laying Up, aiming to foster collaboration and innovation in the Tour’s digital media efforts. The Tour is also set to return with its second Creator Classic of the season ahead of the Truist Championship. Who do you think will come out on top?
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