PGA Tour viewership soars past 2 million for Cognizant Classic finale, beats 2024 figures

The PGA Tour viewership for the Cognizant Classic final round surpassed 2 million on NBC. Although this was higher than last year's rain-affected Monday finish, it was still lower than in 2022 and 2023.

The Cognizant Classic took place from February 27 to March 2 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The event concluded with Joe Highsmith claiming his first PGA Tour title after a two-shot win over Jacob Bridgeman.

On Tuesday, March 4, Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal reported that NBC garnered 2.15 million viewers for the final round of the Cognizant Classic. Last year's edition drew 1.45 million viewers, but it concluded on a Monday due to rain, but the numbers were still lower than in 2023 and 2022, which recorded 2.38 million and 2.57 million viewers, respectively.

So far, the viewership trend for the PGA Tour has been mixed. While some events have drawn less than a million viewers, tournaments like the Genesis Invitational have surpassed the 3 million mark. The Bay Hill event garnered 3.4 million viewers, a 5 percent increase from 2023.

Last week's Mexico Open averaged just under 2.0 million viewers on NBC for the final round. The WM Phoenix Open's final round attracted 2.9 million viewers, 500K more than in 2024.

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How much did each player win at the Cognizant Classic?

Here's a look at the payout for the Cognizant Classic 2025:

• 1. Joe Highsmith: $1,656,000
• T2. Jacob Bridgeman: $818,000
• T2. J.J. Spaun: $818,000
• T4. Max McGreevy: $414,000
• T4. Ben Griffin: $414,000
• T6. Russell Henley: $310,500
• T6. Jake Knapp: $310,500
• T6. Michael Kim: $310,500
• T9. Jordan Spieth: $259,900
• T9. Erik van Rooyen: $259,900
• T11. Max Greyserman: $184,985
• T11. Shane Lowry: $184,985
• T11. Min Woo Lee: $184,985
• T11. Sepp Straka: $184,985
• T11. Brice Garnett: $184,985
• T11. Andrew Putnam: $184,985
• T11. Doug Ghim: $184,985
• T18. Rickie Fowler: $117,606
• T18. Matti Schmid: $117,606
• T18. Alex Smalley: $117,606
• T18. Patrick Rodgers: $117,606
• T18. Victor Perez: $117,606
• T18. Nicolai Hojgaard: $117,606
• T24. Niklas Norgaard: $73,271
• T24. Charley Hoffman: $73,271
• T24. Rico Hoey: $73,271
• T24. Billy Horschel: $73,271
• T24. Daniel Berger: $73,271
• T24. Ryan Gerard: $73,271
• T24. Taylor Montgomery: $73,271
• T31. Beau Hossler: $52,637
• T31. Quade Cummins: $52,637
• T31. Chan Kim: $52,637
• T31. Jesper Svensson: $52,637
• T31. Vince Whaley: $52,637
• T31. Brian Harman: $52,637
• T31. Joel Dahmen: $52,637
• T38. Isaiah Salinda: $41,860
• T38. Karl Vilips: $41,860
• T38. Michael Thorbjornsen: $41,860
• T41. Taylor Moore: $33,580
• T41. Zach Johnson: $33,580
• T41. Jackson Suber: $33,580
• T41. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: $33,580
• T41. Keith Mitchell: $33,580
• T41. Matthieu Pavon: $33,580
• T47. Davis Riley: $24,090
• T47. Sami Valimaki: $24,090
• T47. Denny McCarthy: $24,090
• T47. Sam Ryder: $24,090
• T47. Matt McCarty: $24,090
• T47. Patrick Fishburn: $24,090
• T47. Brian Campbell: $24,090
• T47. Rikuya Hoshino: $24,090
• T55. Matt Kuchar: $21,252
• T55. Chris Kirk: $21,252
• T55. Bud Cauley: $21,252
• T55. Ricky Castillo: $21,252
• T55. Kris Ventura: $21,252
• 60. Jhonattan Vegas: $20,700
• T61. Ben Polland: $20,424
• T61. Antoine Rozner: $20,424
• 63. Greyson Sigg: $20,148
• T64. Francesco Molinari: $19,872
• T64. Matthew Riedel: $19,872
• 66. Tom Hoge: $19,596
• 67. Alejandro Tosti: $19,412