Even though Viktor Hovland didn’t let Xander Schauffele get closer than three strokes on Sunday, his Tour Championship victory produced some surprising numbers for CBS.
In a memo distributed on Tuesday, CBS Sports announced that the final round of coverage of the 2023 Tour Championship averaged 4.613 million viewers.
It scored the most watched telecast of this event since 2018.
Of course, Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship in 2018 in emphatic fashion, marking his first PGA Tour victory in five years.
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Woods’ victory in 2018 drew 7.202 million viewers, a staggering number since the tournament competes with NFL football in the Sunday afternoon window.
But since then, the PGA Tour has adjusted its season so that the FedEx Cup playoffs end before football begins.
However, Hovland’s victory produced impressive numbers, especially as he held a six-shot lead heading into the final round.
A 1-hour, 53-minute weather delay also halted Sunday afternoon play, which doesn’t bode well for broadcast numbers. Often, television viewers go elsewhere—or abandon watching coverage altogether—when the game is suspended.
However, the CBS broadcast on Sunday peaked at 5.510 million viewers.
The early round telecast, which was most affected by the severe storms, still got 2.330 million viewers.
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The impressive numbers obtained by CBS may result from the increased popularity of Hovland. Golf enthusiasts everywhere seem to love the 25-year-old Norwegian, who has an infectious smile and carefree personality.
The same is true in Atlanta, as fans flock to Hovland from Wednesday through Sunday, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the hottest players in the world.
Hovland won the BMW Championship and then the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour’s all-time prize. He earned over $32 million from these two wins alone.
CBS Sports also had a good time. The network averaged 2.206 million viewers for its 42 PGA Tour telecasts, up 1% from 2022.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check @_PlayingThrough too.