According to a recent report, the ratings for the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship suffered a 14% drop from last year's event. The numbers would have been even worse if not for Michael Block's incredible T15 finish.
The 46-year-old golf teacher's incredible run was the highlight of the Major as he recorded the highest finish by a club pro since 1986.
NUCLR Golf tweeted:
"JUST IN: PGA RATINGS SUFFER — Just 4.517M people tuned in for Sunday’s final round at Oak Hill, the lowest viewership for the event since 2008 and down 14% from JT’s win last year. If it weren’t for Michael Block, it may have been catastrophically bad numbers."
Fans believe that Block's performance was key to retaining viewers for the PGA Championship. One fan tweeted that the ratings will plummet even further if Block heads over to the rebel LIV Golf tour.
Another Twitter user stated the blame can't be placed on LIV Golf alone. Although the league is controversial, Brooks Koepka, the eventual winner, had Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler breathing down his neck.
One user stated that the PGA Championship is the least compelling Major tournament.
Another noted that the Major tournament's viewership has been on a downward spiral since 2021.
Here are more reactions from fans after the report revealed the drop in the PGA Championship's viewership:
The PGA Championship will be hoping that the reduction in viewership numbers is only a one-off occurrence and not symptomatic of a larger issue.
Michael Block could benefit from his incredible PGA Championship run
Michael Block is the most popular golfer in the world right now, without even winning the PGA Championship. He sank a hole in one and took the entire sport by storm with his performance.
Via CNN, Block shared his shock at his incredible shot:
“I hit it good, but I didn’t see it go in and Rory stops all of a sudden. He turns around, he’s got his arms open and is coming and giving me a hug. I’m going: ‘What is going on right now?’ He goes: ‘It went in the hole.’ I was like: ‘You’ve got to be kidding, right now under these circumstances that it went in the hole.’ Crazy.”
Block joked that his wife would now ask him to charge a lot more for instructions, and he admitted that he wasn't interested in moving into the professional scene officially. Block has received an invitation for the Charles Schwab Challenge.