Solheim Cup 2023 bags 438,000 viewer numbers, breaking all-time records

Everyone watched the Solheim Cup. The event set an all-time channel record for Sky Sports as 734,000 fans were watching Carlota Ciganda land the crucial putt for Team Europe which helped them break a tie and earn their third consecutive victory in the competition.

On average, 281,000 people watched the three-day competition among the best golfers in the LPGA Tour and other tours. Sunday’s (September 24) final, featuring a tense race for the win, saw the highest average of 438,000 viewers. That was 30% higher than the previous edition in Ohio during 2021.

Every single day of play beat the viewing average from 2021 or any year prior. Furthermore, all three days saw a maximum audience of over 400,000 viewers.

Sky Sports’ director of golf Jason Wessely said via Golf Monthly:

"It was great to see such a thrilling tournament and atmosphere in Spain, and to know that thousands of people are continuing to enjoy women’s golf."

He continued:

"We’re delighted to see so many new and old fans engaging across all our women’s sport portfolio, and we know that we have a fantastic opportunity both with women’s golf and beyond to tell the stories of the greatest female athletes and sporting events in the world."

Wessely finished by adding that they are looking forward to the Ryder Cup, which should do numbers as well:

"Our Sky Sports teams look forward to delivering all the live action at the Ryder Cup in Rome this week, via our exclusive coverage and unparalleled commentary team."

The Ryder Cup is the men's version of the Solheim Cup. If people set records for watching Solheim, there is a good chance they will flock to see the Ryder Cup as well.

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Carlota Ciganda: A new Solheim Cup hero

Carlota Ciganda won the Solheim Cup

Playing on her home turf, Carlota Ciganda never expected to be the hero for her team. She never imagined it would come down to that, especially not in the country she's from. However, that's exactly how the Solheim Cup played out.

Ciganda said via Golf Digest:

"It's amazing. All the support from my family, friends. I have a lot of people here. To play in Spain is always special. To play a Solheim Cup here has been just an unbelievable week. There is nothing like this. To play in Spain in front of your home crowd, and to have my name being chanted was really amazing, very special. It is something that I won’t ever forget."

She continued, deflecting praise to her team for their collective effort. She mentioned how proud she was of her teammates and that she didn't remember hitting the putt:

"I just went crazy. The Americans excel in singles, they are really good players. But we had a great team and I thought we could do this. The team was ready to go out there, fight and give their best. And we did."

Ciganda also said that captain Suzann Pettersen told her she would be the hero. Before the hole, she told her to go out and become a hero for Europe, and her country in particular, and that's exactly what the Solheim Cup script entailed.