Colonial 2022: Another Rough Ratings Week On The PGA Tour

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The 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge featured World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as the third round leader and Jordan Spieth in contention, but that was not nearly enough to help CBS’s ratings.

Eventually won by Sam Burns in a playoff over Scheffler, the final round telecast drew a 1.46/2.43 million average audience, down 2021’s 1.79/3.11 million for Jason Kokrak’s win over Jordan Spieth. All numbers courtesy of ShowBuzzDaily’s weekly sports report on a busy weekend for viewers.

Saturday’s CBS broadcast from Colonial and all Golf Channel telecasts showed declines. The LPGA’s match play event at Shadow Creek was also down across the board and did not draw a top 150 rating for Sunday’s final match.

The NCAA Women’s Championship earlier in the week on Golf Channel also failed to rate.

The same week in 2021 courtesy of Showbuzzdaily:

Nicklaus On Saudi Meeting: “I did it out of courtesy to them because we're doing a golf course for them."

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Jack Nicklaus offered a perfectly reasonable counter to Howard Milstein’s claim. Now we’ll have to see what the response is from the Nicklaus Companies head suing the company namesake.

From Bob Harig’s story at Morning Read:

“They obviously called me,’’ Nicklaus said. “And we’ve had a contract on a golf course in Saudi Arabia for over a couple of years. Essentially the same group.

“So when they called Jackie — my son Jackie organized the meeting, and they came into the Bear's Club (in Florida). We met a couple of guys. John Rees and Paul Stringer from the Nicklaus companies were there because we were doing the golf course, and they proposed this thing to me.

“I did it out of courtesy to them because we're doing a golf course for them. I've got zero interest in wanting to do something like that. I don't care what kind of money they would have thrown at me. My allegiance has been to the PGA Tour. I grew up on the PGA TOUR. I helped found the PGA Tour as it is today. My allegiance is there and it’s going to stay there.’’

In an interview with Michael Bamberger, Nicklaus claimed the offer was in excess of $100 million.

It remains a curious situation given how Nicklaus and Milstein both have no qualms about doing business with Saudi Arabia, but see a line crossing when it comes to supporting a rival golf tour.

"Bravo, Sergio. What a classless way to wave adios."

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A glorious takedown by the Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson of Sergio Garcia following the Spaniard’s pitiful display at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, supposedly one of his last on the PGA Tour before the whiny one takes his aging act to the Saudi Golf League.

I had forgotten about Sergio Garcia.

Given how much he had whined in Dubai at the start of the year about the established tours denying him the chance to make more money, when he's down to his last £100million in the bank, I must admit to feeling a tad embarrassed.

But, fair play to the temperamental Spaniard, he's come roaring back into contention in a style so spectacular as to render null and void any chance of forgetting him in future.

'I can't wait to leave this tour!' he screamed at a PGA Tour referee at the Wells Fargo Championship in Washington last week. 'Two more weeks and I'll be gone!'

You do feel sorry for Garcia, don't you? The purgatory he's had to put up with over the last 20 years in America, on his way to making $54m in prize money, plus a pension pot of at least twice that amount.

Bravo, Sergio. What a classless way to wave adios.

Say what you like about Lee Westwood's decision to team up with this dubious band of mercenaries, but at least he's doing so with a bit of dignity.

Homa In Form, Phil's PGA Status And Pebble's 8th Gets A Green Fix

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Petulance Just Got Real! Sergio Has Only A Few More Weeks On The PGA Tour!

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This is going to be tough to swallow. The emotions, the sadness, the outright misery that this man has had to endure playing the PGA Tour as a relentlessly brooding, temper-tantrum prone, club-hurling, green vandalizing jagwagon may be coming to an end. Oh, and say goodbye to a Ryder Cup captaincy, too.

Having hit his shot into the TPC Potomac’s 10th hole junk, Sergio Garcia vented his case for leniency to a PGA Tour rules official over the commencement of timing for his lost ball search. (See below for an update on that.)

"I can't wait to get out of here,” the miserable said not in reference to the overgrown penalty area, but we would soon find out, in reference to the PGA Tour. Then after more of his signature whining and petulance when he didn’t get his way, Sergio announced he’s going to be taking up residence on the LIV Golf tour where the slogan is, “Shot Just Got Real".

"I can't wait to leave this tour. ... I can't wait to get out of here, my friend,” the wee one said.

And just to be sure we were unclear, the 2017 Masters champion wrapped things up with: "a couple of more weeks, I don't have to deal with you anymore."

Though PGA Tour rules officials work all four major championships, something Garcia would know if he actually interacted with humans in an adult manner.

Garcia did not speak to reporters after his Wells Fargo opening round, but his agent did confirm that his client has sought a release for the first LIV event.

The full video from PGA Tour Live of what may be one of his final rounds on the PGA Tour…until he comes crawling back next year:

**The PGA Tour issued this statement explaining that the official was mistaken in his timing the lost ball search. However, because Garcia entered a marked penalty area, dropped and incurred a one-stroke penalty, there is no change to his score. But some lucky person got to notify him he was in the right. I’m sure he handled it with dignity!

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes May 5, 2022

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PGA In Tulsa: Tiger Shows His Hand

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Tiger Woods visited Southern Hills last week and delivered excitement. And yet, did Team Reed really take to Twitter to grovel about the scouting trip?

The latest Quadrilateral looks at this strange development and this also inspires a preview of potential PGA madness should Phil Mickelson return. Oh, and a weekend wrap-up of a mostly forgettable one in pro golf.

Ratings: Spieth Delivers For CBS; Zurich And Valero Have Rough Years

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Paulsen at Sports Media Watch with the good news for CBS’s 2022 RBC Heritage won by Jordan Spieth and viewed by the largest non-Masters audience of 2022.

Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Heritage tournament averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.68 million viewers on CBS Sunday, marking the largest audience for the event since 2003. Jordan Spieth’s win, which peaked with 5.04 million viewers, increased 20% in ratings and 43% in viewership from last year. The previous 19-year mark was 3.46 million for Spieth’s previous win in 2015.

Also noted by Paulsen and this should not be underestimated: “The 19-year high for the Heritage came on the same Easter Sunday in which the NBA scored its largest opening round playoff audience in 20 years.”

CBS had the other highest-rated non-major of the year with the WM Open in February.

The two-man team Zurich Classic fared poorly for CBS despite Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele winning. According to ShowBuzzDaily.com, it drew a 1.16 final round rating on CBS, averaging just 1.8 million viewers, down from 2021’s 1.37/2.1 million avg. Saturday’s third round drew a .96/1.4 million average, a tick down from 2021.

The 2022 ratings news for NBC continues to be uninspired. But at least the Tour can go right down the Global Home hall and ask what’s going on?

The Valero Open prior to the Masters was down a million average viewers (1.45/2.3 million avg.) for Sunday’s final round from 2021 (1.80/3.3 million).

PGA Field Released With Mickelson And Woods

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Tiger and Phil are entered, but Mickelson’s agent issues statement suggesting his disruptor client is keeping all options open, including a possible Saudi payday.

But does this already suggest Mickelson will return in the disruptor mode that got him in trouble? Thoughts in The Quadrilateral.

A Good Reminder That Sam Snead Made A PGA Tour Cut At 67 Years Old

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Reader GP was miffed at reports out of New Orleans of Jay Haas becoming the oldest player to make a PGA Tour cut. While there might be some recency bias and general silliness to a team event counting the same as an individual tournament, it’s still nice that the Haas’ competed, made the cut and acknowledged Sam Snead.

Adam Schupak handled the “record” well in this story and as you’d expect for a class act like Jay Haas who knows the history of the pro game, he said just what you’d hope after making a key putt to get to the weekend.

That included becoming the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour at 68 years, 4 months, 20 days, edging past Sam Snead, who made the cut at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic at 67 years, 2 months and 23 days.

“I don’t think it should (count) because Sam Snead did it on his own and all that, but anything that I’m even remotely close to Sam Snead on would be very special,” said Haas, of Snead, who was in the field when he made his Tour debut at the 1973 Wyndham Championship.

In a lot of ways, these records or near records are more impressive for Haas:

Haas is making his 799th Tour start, second on the all-time list behind Mark Brooks (803). Among his other achievements he counts leading the record books with 591 made cuts. And Jay, who captained the 2015 U.S. Presidents Cup team, was no slouch in his prime, winning nine times on Tour and another 18 times on PGA Tour Champions, where he remains active.

The Match Is Back Minus Its Founders

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The sixth version of The Match is back featuring four of the NFL’s very best but minus Phil Mickelson or Fivesport as tournament partners.

Mickelson played the first four editions then served as a broadcaster in 2021. Fivesport was a co-partner in the event with Excel.

Mickelson famously complained about the PGA Tour’s obnoxious greed and insinuated that he personally paid $1 million each time he played in The Match.

For Immediate Release:

Turner Sports Assembles Iconic NFL Foursome for Capital One’s The Match – Tom Brady & Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes & Josh Allen – Held at Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday, June 1

TNT to Televise Premier Live Golf Event Featuring Four of Past Five NFL MVPs with Coverage Beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET

Top-Ranked Wynn Las Vegas to Serve as Host of the 12-Hole Challenge for Second Time


Turner Sports’ next installment of Capital One’s The Match, the Sports Emmy-nominated premier live golf event series, will feature a foursome of legendary NFL quarterbacks – Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers teaming up to face Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen – with four of the past five NFL MVPs taking the course together for the first time. TNT will exclusively televise the epic 12-hole event, to be held Wednesday, June 1, with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET, from Wynn Las Vegas, the only golf course on the Las Vegas strip.

The competition will feature both previous Capital One’s The Match participants paired together – seven-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time NFL MVP Brady teamed with four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XLV MVP Rodgers. Rodgers is coming off a win last summer alongside Bryson DeChambeau, while Brady seeks to get redemption in his third appearance in Capital One’s The Match.

A pair of young superstars will be making their debut in the premier golf series: Super Bowl LIV MVP and 2018 NFL MVP Mahomes will be joined by fellow AFC signal caller and 2020 Pro Bowler Allen. Together the four elite gridiron stars have amassed an astounding 30 Pro Bowl, 86 NFL Playoff appearances and nine Super Bowl titles.

Live coverage of the match play event from the Wynn Las Vegas golf course will once again feature unprecedented access with players having open mics throughout the entire competition, including the capability to communicate directly with their competitors and the broadcast commentators. More information on the live production, including the commentator team, and additional details will be shared leading up to the event.

Capital One’s The Match at Wynn Las Vegas will be held at the Wynn Golf Club, which also hosted Brooks Koepka’s 5-and-3 win over DeChambeau in Capital One’s The Match last November. Wynn Golf Club is a 6,722-yard, par-70 championship length golf course and is considered one of the best courses in Las Vegas. Located on the site of the legendary Desert Inn Golf Club, the golf course, designed by Tom Fazio and recently updated by his son, Logan, offers elevation changes and uncharacteristic water hazards on 12 of the Las Vegas course’s 18 picturesque holes. The golf amenities at Wynn Las Vegas, a Forbes Travel Guide five-star luxury hotel, are regarded as second to none.

Turner Sports has televised five editions of Capital One’s The Match, with the series serving as a platform to support various philanthropical organizations. To date, Capital One’s The Match has raised nearly $33 million for various organizations and has donated nearly 17 million meals to Feeding America.

A partner since the event’s inception, Capital One will return as title sponsor of Capital One’s The Match. Further details about social, digital and broadcast brand integrations throughout the event will be shared in the coming weeks.

Partners also include Excel Sports Management as the tournament organizer, along with 199 Productions, Tom Brady’s global multi-platform content and production company.

Spieth Wins No. 13 At Harbour Town With Little Help From His Putting

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Set aside all of the Easter and fatherhood swooning—oh it was flowing—the real standout component of Jordan Spieth’s 13th PGA Tour win came on the greens. He was not good. All-time bad in the strokes gained era.

“I won this golf tournament without a putter,” he confirmed after beating Patrick Cantlay on the first hole of sudden death to win the 2022 RBC Heritage Classic.

That he could capture his 13th win over a strong field with a balky putter makes this one of his most impressive career wins. Consider:

Spieth ended Saturday’s round with a short miss estimated at 18 inches. He then overcame this bizarre lie after driving the 9th green, blasting his next into the hospitality tent area and almost salvaging par.

Rules: Two Wacky Situations At Harbour Town

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Neither of these instances are particularly relatable to the average golfer. Nonetheless they’re unusual ones and if you had money on these players.

Nick Piastowski documents the bizarre scene involving Harold Varner in the 2022 RBC Heritage Classic second round. Varner contends that his ball was moved by a resident who picked up his ball from the original position to identify it and placed it out of bounds. The person denied this and the official agreed with the off-course spectator, though announcers on PGA Tour Live thought the man’s movements were questionable at the time.

“Without a doubt,” Varner said. “The biggest thing for me that I could sleep on is that there was out of bounds right of the creek, and the TV said it’s in the creek. There’s a golf ball right there. I’m not going to be naive and be like my ball couldn’t go there. So I did the right thing, and I said, hey, can you see if that’s my ball? At the time, we couldn’t find a bridge to get across the creek.

“It’s great. I won’t stop talking about it until I talk to Coxy. At some point, the players should have — if I wouldn’t have been there and didn’t see the guy move the ball, I don’t — cool, I’ll go back to the tee. But I’m looking there, and I’m like that’s not right. The rules are there to protect the players, I thought.”

When reached for comment by GOLF.com, a PGA Tour spokesman said, “Stephen is not going to comment on it until he has a chance to talk to Harold about it.” 

If the fan had moved the ball from its original position, Varner would have been allowed to move it back to its original location, under under Rule 9.6, which states: “If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence (including another player in stroke play or another ball) lifted or moved a player’s ball: There is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated) (see Rule 14.2).”

Instead, Varner was hit with a penalty, and he double-bogeyed the hole.

Varner went on to miss a sudden death playoff by a stroke.

Dylan Frittelli was able to find his ball in Spanish moss and play it, but stood astride of his ball as an official appeared to be watching.

The PGA Tour announced a penalty on Twitter.

Frittelli took to Twitter after his round to declare “the rules of golf remain undefeated.”

DeChambeau Says Hand Injury Happened Playing Table Tennis In Saudi Arabia

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And maybe some speed training.

Rex Hoggard’s report from Austin shares the admission of Bryson DeChambeau, who opens at 1:44 today in the WGC Dell Match Play against 49-year-old Richard Bland.

DeChambeau said he injured his hand playing table tennis at the Saudi International, but the ailment had been hurting him for some time.

“People are going to say it’s off of speed training and all that and, sure, some of the things have been a part of that, just abuse and working really, really hard,” he said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve learned so much about my body as time has gone on and learned how to manage things and how important rest is.”

DeChambeau, said he may eventually need to have surgery on his injured hand.

What’s the old saying? Nothing good happens in Saudi Arabia?

Meanwhile, this is just Bland’s third U.S. start ever and he needs a strong week to reach world top 50 status and a late Masters invite, reports Derek Lawrenson.

Monahan: "The system is working"

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The New York Times’ Bill Pennington looked at the youth movement on the PGA Tour and other than suggesting ratings are soaring (they’re definitely not), it’s an interesting read.

But this quote from Commissioner Jay Monahan about the emergence of all under-30-year-olds’s in the world top ten struck me as, well, odd.

“It’s a reflection of the system at work,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner. “The athleticism, the youth, the preparedness, the system is working. You can talk about the top five, but you can extend it past the top five and into the top 30.”

We could also be in a transition period similar to the mid 90s where some top players finally hit a wall, grew older and a new guard stepped in. The system? I guess. But I get we have to go to the whip and play up the athleticism card for the ad agencies.