NBC averaged 4.4 million viewers for the final round of the Players Championship Sunday, up 15% from last year, which included a rain delay and Rory McIlroy rallying to force a playoff that he ultimately won against J.J. Spaun the following Monday morning.
This year, Cam Young won the PGA Tour’s flagship event, with viewership peaking at 7.1 million viewers from 5:45-6 p.m. ET.
No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy (No. 2) were not in contention to win the tournament Sunday, with Scheffler finishing tied for 22nd and McIlroy tied for 46th.
Saturday’s third-round coverage on NBC averaged 3.1 million viewers, which is up 13% from last year.
NBC’s Saturday and Sunday coverage was its highest for the Players Championship since 2021, when 4.6 million viewers tuned into the final round as Justin Thomas won.
Major Comparisons
Whether the Players Championship should be considered a major—alongside the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and Open Championship—was a hot topic last week, despite PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp ultimately quieting some of that noise.
As far as TV ratings, the Players trails behind what the three U.S.-based majors drew for final-round audiences in 2025.
- Masters: 12.71 million viewers on CBS
- U.S. Open: 5.4 million viewers on NBC
- PGA Championship: 4.76 million viewers on CBS
- Open Championship: 4.1 million viewers on NBC
Final-round coverage of the Open Championship, played annually in the U.K., begins in the late morning for East Coast viewers, and finishes in the early-to-mid afternoon.
The final round of the 2025 Players Championship averaged 3.6 million viewers, 3.5 million in 2024, and 4.1 million in 2023.
Last year, the final round of the Tour Championship averaged 4.49 million viewers on NBC, up 34% from 2024, as Tommy Fleetwood won his first PGA Tour event and the $10 million FedExCup.
