Scottie Scheffler drawing 2.91M viewers to beat Formula 1 & Nascar leaves golf analyst 'surprised'

Scottie Scheffler earned his first PGA Tour win of the season on Sunday, May 4 by clinching the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. This victory for Scheffler was anticipated by fans from the first round, as he had a significant lead since then. Despite the tournament's predictability, Scottie Scheffler managed to gather a total of 2.9 million television ratings in the final round, which has surprised golf analysts.

This is a tremendous amount, and it was recently revealed on the Fore Play Podcast that the CJ Cup Byron Nelson's ratings were much ahead of many other major sports broadcasts. On the May 8 episode of the podcast, golf analyst Sam Riggs Bozoian talked about the viewership gathered due to Scottie Scheffler. He said,

"Byron Nelson had a television rating of two point nine one million viewers on Sunday, May 2nd on CBS. This surpassed the Miami Grand Prix in Formula One, which had two point two million viewers on ABC, and the NASCAR race, the worth. I'm not sure worth 400 on FS1, which had two point five six million viewers." [H/T- 24:45]

On this, Trent Ryan made a comment claiming how these numbers have completely surprised him. He explained:

"So this is the first time that I'm surprised all these other tournaments hwhere Rory wins or J.T. wins or Obear wins at Torrey Pines Tigers tournament. Like, you go into that or you come out of it being like, all right, that's a good ratings week for golf. We're going to see those numbers and be happy." (25:24)

Ryan continued:

"I think if you had asked me before you gave the numbers, like, do you think the numbers were up or down at the CJ Cup this week? I would have said down because, you know, Scotty had this thing one on Friday, and it was kind of over, and you think people are going to be watching other things. Baseball's back. NBA playoffs are going on."

The TV ratings for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson final round clearly reflect that Scottie Scheffler's fan base is at its height right now.

How much did Scottie Scheffler make from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson triumph?

Scottie Scheffler in The CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2025 - Final Round - Source: Getty

Scottie Scheffler delivered a commanding performance in the CJ Byron Nelson. Scheffler earned a total of $1.782 million from this performance. He won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a total of 31 strokes under par. Erik van Rooyen scored 23 under par to finish second, giving Scheffler an easy win.

The event featured a total purse value of $9.9 million, which was allocated as follows among all the players:

WIN: Scottie Scheffler, -31/253, $1.782 million
2: Erik van Rooyen, -23/261, $1.079 million
3: Sam Stevens, -20/264, $683,100
4: Jordan Spieth, -19/265, $485,100
T-5: Sam Burns, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Mark Hubbard, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Takumi Kanaya, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Will Gordon, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Eric Cole, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Kurt Kitayama, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Adam Schenk, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-5: Ricky Castillo, -17/267, $305,971.88
T-13: Antoine Rozner, -16/268, $200,475
T-13: Jhonattan Vegas, -16/268, $200,475
T-15: Matt McCarty, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Chris Gotterup, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Max McGreevy, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Chandler Phillips, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Si Woo Kim, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Cameron Champ, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Vince Whaley, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Kevin Roy, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Patrick Rodgers, -15/269, $136,719
T-15: Andrew Putnam, -15/269, $136,719
T-25: Ross Steelman, -14/270, $79,447.50
T-25: Pierceson Coody, -14/270, $79,447.50
T-25: Danny Walker, -14/270, $79,447.50
T-25: Nico Echavarria, -14/270, $79,447.50
T-29: Kevin Yu, -13/271, $66,330
T-29: Taylor Dickson, -13/271, $66,330
T-29: Thorbjorn Olesen, -13/271, $66,330
T-29: Trey Mullinax, -13/271, $66,330
T-33: Doug Ghim, -12/272, $52,800
T-33: Harry Hall, -12/272, $52,800
T-33: Niklas Norgaard, -12/272, $52,800
T-33: Michael Thorbjornsen, -12/272, $52,800
T-33: Ben Martin, -12/272, $52,800
T-33: Sungjae Im, -12/272, $52,800
T-39: Jake Knapp, -11/273, $40,095
T-39: Riyuka Hoshino, -11/273, $40,095
T-39: Alex Smalley, -11/273, $40,095
T-39: Joseph Bramlett, -11/273, $40,095
T-39: Sami Valimaki, -11/273, $40,095
T-39: Nate Lashley, -11/273, $40,095
T-45: Henrik Norlander, -10/274, $31,185
T-45: Matteo Manassero, -10/274, $31,185
T-45: Davis Riley, -10/274, $31,185
48: Rasmus Hojgaard, -9/275, $27,621
T-49: Karl Vilips, -8/276, $25,509
T-49: Webb Simpson, -8/276, $25,509
T-49: Patton Kizzire, -8/276, $25,509
T-52: David Skinns, -7/277, $23,710.50
T-52: Ben Kohles, -7/277, $23,710.50
T-52: Thomas Rosenmueller, -7/277, $23,710.50
T-52: Rico Hoey, -7/277, $23,710.50
T-56: Isaiah Salinda, -6/278, $22,770
T-56: Nicolai Hojgaard, -6/278, $22,770
T-56: Matt Kuchar, -6/278, $22,770
T-56: Stephan Jaeger, -6/278, $22,770
T-60: Byeong Hun An, -5/279, $21,978
T-60: Cam Davis, -5/279, $21,978
T-60: Ryan Fox, -5/279, $21,978
T-60: Victor Perez, -5/279, $21,978
64: Brandon Matthews, -4/280, $21,483
T-65: Mac Meissner, -2/282, $21,186
T-65: Beau Hossler, -2/282, $21,186
T-67: Camilo Villegas, -1/283, $20,691
T-67: Alejandro Tosti, -1/283, $20,691
T-67: Rafael Campos, -1/283, $20,691
70: John Pak, +2/286, $20,295

About the author

Anurag Bhardwaj is a Golf Journalist at Sportskeeda. With over three years of experience writing about various sports, Anurag has drawn inspiration from numerous icons, ranging from WWE’s Roman Reigns to NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes. His passion for storytelling spans across different sports, all while pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Dental Surgery, and he hopes to continue blending both his professions.

A single spark ignited his love for golf, and now he follows the sport with unwavering enthusiasm. Whether it’s the Masters or the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Anurag is always ready for a deep dive into the action. Through his writing, he brings the latest happenings from the golf world straight to the fans' screens. And while he dreams of stepping onto a golf course someday, he remains in awe of Scottie Scheffler’s precision, all while striving to become a great doctor.

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale