Masters 2025 Round 1 viewership drops by 28% amid Tiger Woods' absence

Modified Apr 12, 2025 00:56 GMT

Tiger Woods at the 2024 Masters [Image via IMAGN]

The 2025 Masters at Augusta National is underway. On Friday, golf fans witnessed the conclusion of Round 2 of this prestigious competition. However, while the curtains fell on the second round, an interesting statistic about Round 1 has come to light.

On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Josh Carpenter from Sports Business Journal revealed Round 1 of the 2025 Masters saw a decline in viewership compared to last year. Carpenter reported there was a 28% decline in viewership this year compared to last year's edition.

In 2024, Round 1 of the Masters which included Tiger Woods, earned a viewership of 3.2 million. This number was a 9-year high. However, the same number has now dropped to 2.3 million viewers this year. Carpenter wrote:

"Thursday’s opening round of @TheMasters earned 2.3 million viewers, per ESPN, a drop of 28% from 3.2 million last year. Last year’s opening round, which included Tiger Woods, was a nine-year high. Two years ago: 2.5 million on ESPN"

You can check Josh Carpenter's tweet below:

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A five-time Green Jacket winner, Tiger Woods has been a popular name that has drawn audiences. While Woods played and failed to make the cut at Augusta last year, he couldn't play this year as he is recovering from an injured Achilles tendon.

In Tiger Woods' absence, the 2025 Masters is being carried by stars like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy who made the cut on Friday. The tournament also features LIV Golfers like Bryson DeChambeau who are in a good spot to win after Round 2.

A look at the leaderboard after Round 2 of the 2025 Masters

Justin Rose leads the standings after the second round - Source: Imagn

English professional golfer Justin Rose has been able to keep his lead after Round 2 of the 2025 Masters at Augusta. However, it must be noted that Rose is being chased by LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau who is in second place and is behind Rose by 1 stroke.

Another major addition to the top of the leaderboard has been Rory McIlroy who climbed 24 places to finish T3. After an underwhelming start to Round 1 on Thursday, McIlroy shot 6-under par in Round 2 and has put himself in a good position for the final two rounds.

Last but not least, defending champion Scottie Scheffler is also among the top 5 following the conclusion of the second round. Scheffler shot 5-under par to tie for 5th place.

Here is a look at the top 17 golfers and ties at the 2025 Masters:

1 - Justin Rose (-8)
2 - Bryson DeChambeau (-7)
T3 - Rory McIlroy (-6)
T3 - Corey Conners (-6)
T5 - Matt McCarty (-5)
T5 - Shane Lowry (-5)
T5 - Scottie Scheffler (-5)
T5 - Tyrrell Hatton (-5)
T9 - Rasmus Hojgaard (-4)
T9 - Viktor Hovland (-4)
T9 - Jason Day (-4)
T12 - Sungjae Im (-3)
T12 - Ludvig Aberg (-3)
T12 - Hideki Matsuyama (-3)
T12 - Patrick Reed (-3)
T12 - Collin Morikawa (-3)
T17 - Xander Schauffele (-2)
T17 - Tommy Fleetwood (-2)
T17 - Davis Riley (-2)
T17 - Michael Kim (-2)
T17 - Brian Harman (-2)

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Varun Anand Bhat