Last year, LIV Golf Adelaide saw a 150% increase in viewership compared to the previous year. Luckily this year’s LIV Golf opener has maintained its appeal This time, it’s not the ticket sales but a rise in TV viewers instead. While it’s great news for CEO Scott O’Neil, the battle isn’t over. With LIV Golf Miami and the Texas Open happening simultaneously, maintaining strong TV ratings remains a challenge, according to golf insiders.
On the Rex and Lav Podcast on the Golf Channel, insiders discussed how the Miami event is a key opportunity to evaluate LIV Golfers competing in the Masters. Rex started with, “Yes, I think this will give us an opportunity to see where Bryson’s game is and Jon Rahm and the rest of them. There’s been plenty of players who seem to be in good form on LIV Golf. Joaquin Neiman being at the top of the herd, I would say right now. However, we haven’t seen them on something that’s going to be a demanding test. And I’ll give LIV credit for adjusting the schedule. This is a good lead-in.”
Rex also talked about how with the Texas Children Houston Open going on. He added that will be a good challenge for LIV golf to maintain their numbers for the Miami event. “It’s going to be the head-to-head comparison between whatever’s going to happen in San Antonio at the Texas Open and whatever’s going to happen in Miami. This is the best opportunity that LIV Golf has ever had to truly go head-to-head with the PGA Tour. And I’m just not talking about on TV. Certainly that’s a part of it, but certainly it is going on the main Fox network and being in the Eastern time zone.”
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil announced 2.5 million global viewers for the season opener in Saudi Arabia. However, maintaining those numbers may be tough with the Texas Children’s Open happening simultaneously. Last year, LIV Golf Adelaide witnessed viewership of over 90,000 and a 40% rise in ticket sales. This time, the number is significantly higher.
As for the PGA Tour, over the course of the entire 2024 regular season, they saw an average of 2.8 million people for the final round. In the majors, they witnessed around 20% decline in starting with the Masters. Given this trend, LIV Golf is closing the gap, and its viewership could continue to grow in the coming years.
JUST IN — LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil tells ESPN that the league pulled 2.5 Million worldwide viewers during its season opener in Saudi Arabia this February. Nielsen U.S. TV data from @YeahClickClack indicated opening round viewership of about 12K, with the final round… pic.twitter.com/J7QTjlfued
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 2, 2025
Speaking of competition, Bryson DeChambeau‘s and Jon Rahm‘s games will give us an idea about what we can expect from them at the Masters. However PGA Tour shouldn’t be underestimated here, either. The reason isn’t the type of competition the PGA Tour golfers can put, but the answer lies in the field of the Texas Open this week.
The Texas Open’s field is practice ground for masters
The way the Memorial Park GC is deigned it’s similar to the Augusta National. It especially has features of the par-5 9th hole, Carolina Cherry, which has a distinctive green that slopes from back to front. Thanks to that, all the players playing at the Texas Open as well as masters can use it as a good practice to get ready for the battle of the green jacket. Tony Finau talked about it recently and said, “I don’t think there’s a better prep golf course leading up to The Masters than Memorial Park…I think they try to set it up to where it’s similar to Augusta National maybe to have guys play.”
One of the prominent golfers who can take advantage of this is Rory McIlroy. The Irishman recently won THE PLAYERS. After carrying his current form and practicing at the Texas Open, he might complete his career grand slam. PGA Tour pro Billy Horschel was also positive about it and said, “I know Scottie Scheffler is in the field…but the way Rory has been playing this year or where his game’s at wouldn’t shock me if he wins this week. And it is a good test. The greens are big and they have got some slope in them. Chipping around the greens, having to hit these hit chips up to the greens so it gets you ready for Augusta a little bit and yeah I think it’s gonna be a great test.”
So, PGA Tour or LIV Golf who will come out on top? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
The post Scott O’Neil’s $2.5M Claim Given Reality Check by Insiders as LIV Golf Nears ‘Head-to-Head’ Challenge With PGA Tour Ahead of Masters appeared first on EssentiallySports.