Players Championship delivers disappointing Sunday TV ratings
Hmmmmm....do tell:
The Players Championship delivered the most drama-filled and star-studded finish of the 2024 golf season thus far. Unfortunately, that didn't lead to whopping TV ratings.As reported by Sports Business Journal, Sunday viewership of the PGA Tour's flagship event was significantly down from last year. What's interesting is that the tournament produced the same winner, Scottie Scheffler—and a much closer result.Last year 4.14 million tuned in to see Scheffler cruise to a five-shot victory, but only 3.53 million watched the World No. 1 win at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday.Even more disheartening for the tour and NBC is that this was the lowest-rated broadcast for any completed Sunday final round in a decade. Back in 2014, 3 million viewers watched Martin Kaymer beat Jim Furyk. Only 2.91 watched on Sunday in 2022, but bad weather pushed coverage to Golf Channel before a Monday finish won by Cameron Smith. That was also the last year before LIV Golf, whose players are banned from competing in PGA Tour events, came along.These results are also part of a troubling trend going back to last year. Many believe the rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has caused a fatigue effect among golf fans.
Can't you just feel the game growing?
That last 'graph has me chuckling, as apparently one guy didn't get the Correlation Does Not Imply Causation memo.... But perhaps it's not so much the LIV v. PGA rift, but rather the fact that the players have revealed themselves to be entitle, money-grubbing a*******es. Of course, I's like to think that fans are striking because of the exclusion of mid-tier players from the money grabs.... What? Oh yeah, I won't overreact to that correlation....
A brief reminder of context, to wit, that the Tour has taken $1.5 billion large thus far, and quite obviously seeks billions more from some combo platter of SSG and PIF, raising the issue of a return on investment for the jock-sniffers. To do so the Tour needs to jack up its revenues quickly, rendering TV ratings a significant proxy. The revenues directly attributable to the ratings are locked in until 2030, which right now looks like a major "W" for Jay.... Yet, inquiring minds want to know, do declining ratings portend an enhanced monetization of the product?
Geoff looks forward to those four events that actually matter:
Still. This dreadful slide means the major championships will be a key barometer of the damage done by the emergence of LIV and the PGA Tour’s response.Will ratings come in as expected for Grand Slam events or maybe even arrive up a bit when all the best players convene?Or, will the ratings decline continue because,(A) fans have been turned off by all the money talk, ,(B) the recreational game’s thriving and taking eyeballs away as people get fresh air instead of watching television,(C) has today’s largely tech-heavy/artistry-light way of playing the game put people to sleep in the same totally foreseeable (if-you’re-not-a-Titleist-lap-dog) way power surges have torpedoed other sports, or,(D) are these declines some odd combination of an array of factors that also include Comcast’s de-investment in marketing and promotion of the sport?Either way, it’s a shocking plunge for The Players given what a great show the contestants, NBC and TPC Sawgrass put on. Those who watched enjoyed a good show and we’re grateful. But we’re also likely to get an even better show in three weeks at Augusta National.
A better show at Augusta? Boy, I'd tend to agree, but without Talor Gooch there, what's the point?
All of LIV's happy talk about growing the golf fallaciously conflated the game with the professional game. And a good thing that, when you look at their effect on the latter....
Getting To Know You - Are you dying for details of that little get-together at Albany? First, some venue notes:
Tiger Woods hosted the meeting with the head of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia at his residence in the Bahamas on Monday that was a viewed as a “meet and greet and learn” session to potential future investment in PGA Tour Enterprises.Woods and Al-Rumayyan played golf on the Albany course near Nassau where Woods hosts the annual Hero World Challenge.
So, Tiger demanded a home game? Would some architectural details be too much to ask?
See if this enhances your trust in the leadership:
“What I was interested in going there was to learn more about who he is and what he’s thinking,”Simpson said. “Learn about LIV more. What was your intention and hope there? How’s it going? All that kind of stuff. A meet and greet and learn. I think he wanted to learn from us kind of what we think. We wanted to figure out what he thinks.”According to Simpson, the meeting did not involve “in the weeds” negotiating but more of a big picture of the PIF’s intentions. The sovereign wealth fund is invested in hundreds of companies around the world with a worth in excess of $700 billion. It has invested heavily in sports, including the Premier League, tennis, Formula One racing and golf.“If definitely seems like he envisions a place in the game of golf,” Simpson said. “We didn’t get as far as what he wants and what does LIV want. He certainly seems engaged enough in the game already that he has desires to see the game grow globally, I think it’s fair to say. And he mentioned growing it in Saudi to try and do that.”
So, they talked about the weather? Seriously, he grew the game in Saudi from zero to one? But isn't it pretty obvious what he wants with LIV? he wants to eat your lunch, Webb...
You might want to clear all liquids for this next excerpt, one that's hard to characterize. Feels kinda like hero worship, no?
Malnati, who is also playing in this week’s Valspar Championship, declined to go into specifics. In a brief interview, the veteran PGA Tour player said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the conversational nature of Al-Rumayyan, who has often been described as an avid golfer who frequently competes in pro-ams at LIV Golf League tournaments.“Obviously he is not a regular guy,” Malnati said. “He chairs 140-something boards. But to talk to him, it was like talking to another human being. I enjoyed and appreciated that. We were definitely talking to a golf nut.”Malnati reiterated his desire to see “all the best players together, not just in the major championships.“I still certainly think a path forward for professional golf makes more sense with him on our side than him as an antagonist,” Malnati said. “But there’s a lot of work to do to ... seeing the same vision for the future of professional golf. There is space between his and ours.”
So, just like talking to another human being? Hmmm... get out much, Peter? I mean, no argument, he is another human being, I mean to the extent that those organizing mass beheadings deserve to be considered human.... But, yes Peter, his checks clear.
Although this might be the key bit:
Details from what occurred at the meeting have been vague but it appears the sides are no closer to any kind of agreement than they were nine months ago when the June 6 “framework agreement” was announced.
Your humble blogger has worked his sources, but has been unable to confirm that Yasir puts his pants on one leg at a time.... But wassup with eh hero worship? Not a good look....
A Meritocracy, If You Can Keep It - Just a quick hit, but one that channels Babe Ruth, Herbert Hoover and, in that header is a hint of Benjamin Franklin. So, remember this from the Bambino?
Those writers who were closest to Ruth attempted to convince the slugger that this was no time to hold out, with millions unemployed and thousands on the point of actual starvation. How much did Babe want, anyway?“Just what I’ve been getting for the last two seasons,” explained Ruth with what he thought was a great show of patience, “$8o,ooo.”“$8o,ooo a year! In these times!” expostulated one of the writers. Don’t be silly, Babe. Why that’s more than Hoover gets for being president of the United States.”“What the hell has Hoover got to do with this?” demanded the Babe. “Anyway, I had a better year than he did.”
Well, he did.... But this is what reminded me of that:
I don't think ted Scott is the only Tour caddie having a better year than Rors....
Let’s get this out of the way first: Rory McIlroy’s bank account will be just fine. According to Forbes, the golfer was 15th among The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes in 2023, and if Spotrac’s numbers are right, he’s earned at least $140,933,264 over his career. The Northern Irishman has four majors and 24 tour wins, so he’ll be okay with this one unfavorable comparison.
OK, enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to Ted Scott's wallet.
Yup, that’s right. Assuming the standard 10 percent cut for a win, Scottie Scheffler’s caddie has outearned Rory’s 2024 PGA earnings … over just eight days. It should be noted that McIlroy is off to a slow (for him) start to the year, but $850,000 without a single swing is a hell of a run—and that won’t stop anytime soon with Scheffler heading into next month’s Masters as the favorite.
The magic of small sample sizes.... But note where Rory stood in 2023, despite not winning anything that matters. Yet he's joined those whining about his take, even proposing smaller fields for the events carrying the largest purses. How much would be enough for you, Rory? Asking for a friend....
Auditions Continue - I haven't watched all that much of NBC's coverage, with the exception of The Players last weekend. But I've been OK with the analyst tryouts, if only because the real challenge for these guys is to keep it fresh over the longer term. That said, I don't think this guy will rpove to eb the answer:
Notah Begay III aims to prove he's more than the 'Tiger guy' in try-out for NBC's golf analyst role
But are you more than that? Because that's pretty much the basis for what you've achieved thus far, no?
I appreciate the self-awareness, but not sure I'm buying this:
For Notah Begay III, there is no escaping the Tiger Woods connection, and he doesn't even try. Infact, when discussing his decade-plus career at NBC this past week, he broached the topic unprompted."Initially, and for good reason, a lot of people thought I was just brought in to be the quote-unquote 'Tiger guy,'" he said. "Thankfully, I think I've evolved out of that a little bit, because if he retires anytime soon, and I'm still the Tiger guys, I'm out of a job."
Begay, the 51-year-old who has long been an on-course "walker" for NBC's golf coverage (you can learn more about what that job entails in our Smylie Kaufman feature here), played his college golf at Stanford, where he became friends with Woods. He went on to win four times on the PGA Tour between 1999 and 2000, fought through injuries and slumps for the next decade, and joined NBC in 2012. In the ensuing 12 years, he has made several forays into commentary and analysis, but this weekend, for the first time, he'll have the analyst role to himself for an entire tournament at the Valspar Championship.
I think Notah is a pleasant voice as an on-course reporter, though I don't see him as a sufficiently strong voice to occupy the big chair. Additionally, Tiger may be winding down his playing career, he's now being held out as our savior in his new roles as a Player Director. So, on the major golf story of the moment, Notah remains compromised.
Say What? - Wyndham Clark is a talented player, but not a strong candidate for your debating team. This to me is off-putting:
Yeah, that's the ticket, Wyndham. Oddly, he begins with an admission against interest:
In a new interview with Fox News Digital published on Thursday, Clark once again defended his actions at Bay Hill, rejecting any accusations of cheating.“It is unfortunate, because I had no ill intent to try to cheat or improve my lie. I didn’t even know anything had happened until I got into the scoring tent, and that’s when they showed me the video,” Clark said in the interview. “You see the video, and you’re like, ‘Oh man, that doesn’t look great.'”
Any thoughts on why it didn't look great, Wyndham? This is as existential as he gets:
He went on to explain that despite what the video showed, his actions were in keeping with the spirit and letter of the Rules of Golf.“I’ve never tried to cheat in the game of golf, and hopefully people don’t think of me that way,” he told Fox News Digital. “I just think the camera was zoomed in and made it look worse than it really was.”
You know what's a good way to convince people that you're not a cheater? How about not mashing clubs behind your ball to tamp the grass down? Just spitballin' here, but there's little other reasons to be doing what you did.....
Just reminder that he was absolved of sin on the broadcast through the assertion that he was allowed to ground his club. However, Wyndham doesn't exactly address the fact that grounding the club is a very specific term, but that video that didn't "look great" is because he was doing far more landscaping work than can be reasonably considered grounding the club.
Here comes the misdirection:
But Clark didn’t stop there. He also suggested the Rules of Golf are far too complicated for the average player, an argument that would likely find a lot of support among recreational golfers. He used the example of playing golf with his friends to highlight his point.“There are some things where I’m like, Can we dumb it down on the rules and not make it so complicated and make it a little simpler and more user-friendly?” Clark said. “It’s second nature for [pro golfers], so I don’t think about [it] as much, but when I get into social golf with buddies, and they’re asking questions, they don’t understand, I’m like, ‘You’re right, it is really complicated and probably should be easier and simpler.'”
Highlight? I think you spelled "obscure" incorrectly....
This has little to do with the rules, though it obviously relates to the Tour's enforcement of the rules. Obviously the Tour has long protected the players, but if Wyndham wants to use Patrick reed as a role model, what could go wrong with his career?
I shall make my exit here, and wish you all a great weekend. See you Monday, I think. It is my last full day of the ski season, so bear with me if close-down requirements intrude.
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