TV coverage of the Masters: Jon Rahm ousts even Tiger Woods!

It looked like the Masters could be forced into a first Monday finish since 1983 as the weather pushed the course and players to their limits.

But a marathon Sunday at Augusta National saw Jon Rahm romp to victory by four shots and CBS reported the largest viewership figures of any golf broadcast since the 2018 tournament.

The action averaged 12.06 million viewers which represented a 19% increase from Scottie Scheffler’s victory last year.

This figure also made it the most-watched golf telecast on any channel since the 2018 Masters when Patrick Reed won.

The network recorded more than 15 million people watching around the time Rahm became the fourth Spaniard to slip on the Green Jacket and the ninth European in the event’s history.

CBS accumulated a combined average of 16.251 million viewers throughout the final day that saw Brooks Koepka initially build a two-shot lead after the third round before being reeled in by the new World No 1.

It even topped the day Tiger Woods sensationally won his 15th major title in 2019, but the final round four years ago was rounded off earlier than usual due to a bad weather forecast.

Both CBS and the Masters will no doubt be delighted with such a successful weekend of broadcasting during a time when TV ratings in the sport are under such scrutiny.

The popular sports channel vowed to be impartial when showing coverage of both PGA Tour and LIV Golf players ahead of the event, and the top of the leaderboard featured a mixture of the two.

Having signed its first broadcast deal with the CW Network in America, LIV Golf has had a rocky start to life on mainstream television.

After the first Saudi-financed event of 2023 in Mexico, it was reported LIV Golf Mayakoba earned a rating of 0.2 across 26 different markets.

But the rebel tour countered this and claimed the event at El Camaleon Golf Club generated an audience of 3.2 million viewers over the weekend.

In addition, the CW broadcast of the second round saw 1.6 million people tune in and more than 1.3 million total linear viewers were recorded during the final round when Charles Howell III cashed in the $4 million winner’s cheque.

Matt Chivers

Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.

Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.

Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.

Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.

Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.

What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.