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Despite getting a dominant performance from the premier talent in golf, the Masters saw a drop in viewership since 2023. Despite Scottie Scheffler putting on a clinic, not many people were watching compared to last year's tournament. Furthermore, it was the lowest-rated tournament since the 2021 version.
The final round didn't have as much intrigue, as Scheffler remained the leader, or tied for the lead, most of the time. As competitors faded, he stayed strong and pushed the gap until he won.
The Masters viewership drop is interesting for 2024
Interestingly, the Masters saw such a drop this year. The margin of victory can't be all that responsible, as Scheffler's four-stroke victory mirrors the margin of victory from 2023 when Jon Rahm topped the leaderboard over two LIV members.
It also represented another outing for Tiger Woods. He hadn't played since the last Masters when he had to withdraw due to injury. But after recovering and taking time to prepare, it was a big outing for arguably the most popular golfer in the world.
There was also some intrigue with LIV Golf, which had plenty of talented players on the field representing their best shot to win. The defending champ who came in with the third-best odds of winning was on that tour, so there was always a chance for a historic tournament.
Nevertheless, it seems like golf fans weren't as interested this year as they have been in previous years. The state of golf may be at play, as many pro golfers believe the sport is suffering and losing fans due to the chasm between the two sides.
Bryson DeChambeau, who had a pretty great outing at the Masters, said via Golfweek:
“The fans are what drive this sport. If we don’t have fans, we don’t have golf. We are not up here entertaining. That’s the most important thing as of right now, the low-hanging fruit. There’s got to be a way to come together. It’s not sustainable for sure, and we all respect that and recognize that and want the best for the game of golf. We all love this game and we want to keep playing it and we want to keep competing.”
Phil Mickelson said:
"I think in the end, we are in a transitional state where we now have competition and that’s leading to a lot of disruption and change."
Rahm also hopes for a more global sport and that the final product will be better and will bring fans back, though it is going to take some time to achieve that.
With the merger still pending and players seemingly earning more and more money all the time, some fans are disillusioned by the sport right now, and that seems to be evidenced by the Masters viewership.
If not as many fans were watching the biggest tournament in the sport where all their favorites play against one another, then they may just not have as much interest in general.
