136,000 viewers watch Kevin Yu take victory at Sanderson Farms Championship, increasing count from last year

The PGA Tour has seen a recent trend of declining television viewership in recent months, but that was not the case with the Sanderson Farms Championship. The event didn't draw a huge audience, but it outperformed its viewership from a year ago.

Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the Sanderson Farms Championship, which saw Kevin Yu emerge victorious, attracted a larger television audience than the previous year's event won by Luke List.

Carpenter posted the following:

"Viewership for the Sanderson Farms Championship on Golf Channel (Kevin Yu winner). Sunday: 136,000 (133K in 2023). Saturday: 95,000 (115K in 2023)."

Kevin Yu won the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship after beating Beau Hossler in a playoff. The two were tied for the lead after 72 holes at 23-under 265.

The Taiwanese carded scores of 66 in each of the first three rounds. On the fourth and decisive day, he made one bogey and six birdies, including one on the 18th hole, to force a play-off.

Hossler, playing in the group behind Yu's, had a chance to win with a birdie on the final hole. However, his tee shot went wide into the left rough and he had to dig deep to save par and reach sudden death.

Yu needed just one play-off hole to claim the Sanderson Farms Championship title. He reached the green in two shots and made sinked a birdie, something his opponent failed to do.

In the playoff hole, Hossler's tee shot once again landed in the left rough. His subsequent attempt to reach the green resulted in his ball ending up in a bunker. His final hope for victory was a successful chip-in for birdie, but unfortunately, he was unable to capitalize on this opportunity.

This marked Yu's first PGA Tour victory in 56 starts and moved him up to 60th in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings and 71st in the world.

---

A look at the PGA Tour TV ratings before the Sanderson Farms Championship

Sports Business Journal also published the PGA Tour's television ratings for the 2024 season. According to the report, the average Sunday audience (excluding major tournaments) was 2.2 million, down 19% from 2023.

NBC reported an average of 2 million viewers overall and 2.35 million on Sundays. This represents a decrease of 5% and 2%, respectively. CBS, meanwhile, reported an average of 1.79 million viewers, down 17% from 2023.

The reports cite a number of reasons for this phenomenon, including inclement weather which has interrupted events such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the WM Phoenix Open and the RBC Heritage.

The viewership has also been affected by the ongoing controversy surrounding player defections to LIV Golf and its conflict with the PGA Tour. This situation has reportedly led to "fan fatigue."