PGA Tour Return Draws 683,000 Average, Most Watched Non-Major Thursday Since 2019 Players

The COVID-19 era’s first official full-field event drew a healthy 683k viewers during its Golf Channel window, and another 447k viewers when a PGA Tour Live free preview ran showing the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge. (Comparisons to last year’s May playing are in the press release below and the primary sign of a ratings bump.)

Before any Tour execs start elbow bumping over the numbers, ShowBuzzDaily says the highly anticipated return’s .12 rating landed 68th on the list of top cable programs Thursday. The live golf scored 82nd for the morning PGA Tour Live airing.

The 69th ranked show Thursday was Loud House on Nickelodeon, while 70th was Untold Stories of Hip Hop on something called WETV. (No clue. I have a better chance of finding TruTV on the dial.)

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR’S RETURN BECOMES MOST-WATCHED ROUND 1 

SINCE 2019 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP; MOST-WATCHED

AT EVENT SINCE 2003 FEATURING ANNIKA SORENSTAM

FORT WORTH, Texas (June 12, 2020) – The PGA TOUR returned to competition yesterday for the first time since March 12, as GOLF Channel’s live coverage of Thursday’s opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge earned a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 683,000 average viewers (4-7p ET), up 160% vs. opening round of the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge (263k TAD). Yesterday becomes the most-watched Thursday telecast on the PGA TOUR (excluding Presidents Cup) since the 2019 PLAYERS Championship (907k average viewers). It also marks the most-watched opening round telecast at the event (672k average viewers) in its 14 years on GOLF Channel (2007-’20), and since 2003, when LPGA Tour player Annika Sorenstam competed alongside her PGA TOUR counterparts.

Additional highlights:

• GOLF Channel (4-7p ET) on Thursday was the No. 1 cable sports network by 225%, and No. 5 overall cable network.

• Persons 25-54 saw 203k average viewers, +421% vs. opening round of 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge (39k average viewers).

• GOLF Channel also preceded traditional live tournament coverage on Thursday with expanded inside-the-ropes coverage of PGA TOUR LIVE featured groups, which earned 447k average viewers (Noon-4p ET), +252% vs. The Honda Classic opening round PGA TOUR LIVE featured groups in February (127k).

David Barron On Lance Barrows Working His Last Colonial

Plenty of good stuff in this Lance Barrow profile by David Barron in the Houston Chronicle. The longtime CBS golf producer is working his final Colonial tournament since joining the network in 1977.

There was this on his predecessor Frank Chirkinian:

Along with CBS veterans like Steve Milton and Jim Rikhoff, Barrow is one of the few network employees who worked with Chirkinian, who relished his nickname as “The Ayatollah.”

“My personality is different, but Frank taught all of us,” he said. “We used to call CBS the ‘Chirkinian Broadcast School.’

“If somebody compared our telecast with Frank’s, which is hard to do because of technology and all the things we have now, I would view that as the ultimate compliment. I’ve always tried to ensure that nothing gets in the way of covering the golf tournament and the competition, and that’s what Frank wanted to do, too.”

"Mic'd Rickie Fowler delivered good stuff, even if his game did not"

AP’s Stephen Hawkins covered the television angle to the “Return To Golf” and Rickie Fowler’s “mic’d up” approach got the most attention. Deservedly so. As I Tweeted at one point, had Fowler not done so I’m pretty sure the telecast would have been considered a real drag. But just getting inside the ropes with him a few times and overhearing other comments from his group, took us to some places we rarely get in a PGA Tour event.

And there was a bit of a rocky start when a normal microphone picked up an obscenity-infused compliment. Here is the offending moment, should be inclined.

From Hawkins’ story:

“Well, we were hoping for better audio with no fans, surrounding the course,” commentator Jim Nantz then said on the broadcast. “Apologize if anybody was offended with what they may have heard there.”

That threesome of the world’s top three players — No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2 Rahm and No. 3 Brooks Koepka — was being followed by TV support people, a coach, a trainer and a small group of media during the first PGA Tour event in three months.

The expletive was audible even though none of the players in that group were wearing a microphone, like Rickie Fowler did throughout the first round of Charles Schwab Challenge.

As for Fowler, Brian Wacker at GolfDigest.com covers the highlights of what we learned and notes what just hearing these exchanges did to help in a fan-free environment.

In the process of shooting a three-over 73 that included four bogeys in the last five holes, he offered a PG-version of commentary that was mostly a terrific listen to a world so few have access to. It wasn’t explosive, but did provide added value, especially as the day wore on.

After the first two holes of silence—sans for the sounds of Fowler’s shirt moving as he walked—viewers were welcomed into the conversation as Fowler and his caddie, Joe Skovron, shared their thoughts on a 154-yard approach with a 8-iron that sailed about 10 yards too far.

He also details the very fascinating Inside Baseball discussion between Fowler and caddie Joe Skovron.

Schwab Challenge Tourney Director Predicts Huge TV Ratings For Colonial Return

Art Stricklin reports this bold prediction for ratings this week.

Fifteen of the top 20 players in the world are in the field, including all of the top five. Earlier in the week, Colonial tournament director Michael Tothe said he expects huge TV ratings.

“It’s won’t be the best ever [in golf], because we don’t have Tiger in the field and he drives everything, but I think we’ll do a 6.0 or higher,” Tothe said, referring to the Nielson [sp] ratings. “If we had Tiger we could do a 10.”

In the last decade, Colonial has never drawn better than a 2.0 rating.

6’s and 10’s would put the event in very elite ratings company.

Coverage windows and other broadcast details are here.

CBS Previews The "Return To Golf" At Colonial: More Sound, Multiple Working Locations, Drones & More

My main takeaways from the CBS call previewing this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge from Colonial:

—The crew this week will work like no TV team ever has in stifling heat with a severe reduction in on-site personnel. Drink those fluids!

—This is going to cost more despite keeping a production team working in six locations (including New Zealand!) and announcers in two spots (Colonial and Orlando). CBS Sports President Sean McManus confirmed the crew’s locales and increased cost element late in the call.

—Players still haven’t come around on the idea of us hearing more of what they say, a problem that can (and will) be solved my market forces.

—The “confession cam” as dubbed by Jim Nantz smells like one of those really swell ideas when it started before the committee turned a thoroughbred into a camel.

—Expect a ton of commercial breaks. But “Eye on the Course” will be used more than ever, according to McManus.

—Nantz has a tough task on his hands both in crafting words and the right tone, though seems up to it.

—Crews will work two weeks and then get replaced by a new crew for the next two weeks during a grueling 11-week stretch for CBS.

—Without fans a live drone sounds like it’s going to happen, pending a bit more testing.

Regarding the details, here is Bob Harig at ESPN.com on the confession cam where a camera will be positioned and players will answer a question on a printed card:

The "inside the ropes'' feature also will be experimented with and staged perhaps on the 10th tee or after the 10th hole. Players can answer a quick question to be taped and used later, possibly compiled with other answers.

"I think that can make a big difference,'' Nantz said. "It's a wonderful opportunity for the game. They have a chance to go before a sports-starved nation and create a wider audience. But we need the players' help.''

The primary issue seems to be the idea of asking players to break their concentration.

With 148 players, hot weather, four a robust senior division and a golf course too short for the modern game there should be some good logjams where players will run for the confines of a shaded tent.

Doug Ferguson on how the announce situation will work:

CBS is doing its part of reduce health risks with a production crew that McManus said will be roughly half of what it is for a normal PGA Tour event, with operations such as graphics and video shading in six locations.

Faldo will be at Golf Channel studios in Orlando, Florida, along with Frank Nobilo and Ian Baker-Finch, who usually are in towers on the course. The other talent at Colonial will be Dottie Pepper and Mark Immelman as on-course reporters.

There will be smaller production trucks spread across the compound to promote social distancing. Nantz will call the action all four days, as the same production will be used for the weekday coverage shown on Golf Channel.

Ryan Lavner with this from McManus regarding players and sound.

A few players have already agreed to wear a microphone during this week’s telecast, part of what CBS chairman Sean McManus described as an “aggressive” push with the Tour. With no spectators for the first five events, McManus said there’s “a little bit more of a willingness” among the players to be mic’d up. 

As many have noted, we should naturally get more sound with no crowd noise. Oh, and on the topic of possibly supplementing the sounds, Nantz shot that down as Dave Shedloski reported in his roundup of the call:

• While there will be no fans watching the action at Colonial, the network will eschew piping in any audio enhancements—another way of saying it will not add fake crowd noise or reactions. As Nantz said, appropriately, “The key word is ‘fake.’ As a fan … just take it for what it is, give me the real scene and let me deal with it.”

Here is the full press release, noteworthy in itself as a joint venture of CBS, Golf Channel and PGA Tour.

THE PGA TOUR RETURNS WITH THE CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 11-SUNDAY, JUNE 14

WITH 59 HOURS OF LIVE COVERAGE ACROSS CBS, GOLF CHANNEL AND PGA TOUR LIVE 

The 2019-20 PGA TOUR season returns with the Charles Schwab Challenge, beginning on Thursday, June 11 and concluding with final-round coverage on Sunday, June 14, with 59 hours of live coverage across CBS, GOLF Channel and PGA TOUR LIVE.

With live coverage returning, the health and safety of all involved at CBS Sports, NBC Sports Group and PGA TOUR Entertainment is paramount. With that as the top priority, a plan was developed to resume production of live golf, implementing health screenings and safety protocols, utilizing more technology, minimizing travel and reducing the on-site footprint, maximizing social distancing, all while allowing for a best-in-class production.

CBS Sports and GOLF Channel will present a unified, linear broadcast production. The same production and announce team during Saturday and Sunday’s coverage on CBS also will work Thursday and Friday’s coverage on GOLF Channel –  allowing for fewer than half of the normal contingent on site for a typical PGA TOUR production. In addition to Fort Worth, there will be members of the team working remotely from GOLF Channel studios in Orlando, Los Angeles, New York, Stamford (Conn.) and New Zealand. 

Many of the production elements, including the scoring graphics, remote editing, video shading, multiple replay devices – including the new multichannel Hawkeye system – and editorial support, will come from these remote locations. 

In addition to reducing on-site personnel, the plan will be promoting greater social distancing by adding television mobile units to limit the number of people in each one and reconfiguring the trucks to provide more space and physical barriers.

Live television coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge will begin Thursday at Noon ET on GOLF Channel with an extended live “look-in” to PGA TOUR LIVE featured group streaming coverage. Traditional television coverage will start on Thursday at 4:00 PM, ET on GOLF Channel and conclude on Sunday beginning at 3:00 PM, ET on CBS.

For all four days Jim Nantz will anchor coverage from the 18th Tower at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Nantz will be joined on site by on-course reportersDottie Pepper and Mark Immelman. Lead Analyst Nick Faldo, Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo will offer analysis remotely from Orlando and Amanda Balionis will contribute reports from her home. 

The CBS Sports production team will lead coverage utilizing 23 cameras including 10 hard cameras, six mini RF cameras, plus robotic cameras and more. The team will return with its industry-leading Production and Technology elements including:

• Toptracer - Using 3D radar tracking to provide the viewer with a true sense of distance, height, curvature and more. Tracing live tee shots on various holes showing the apex, ball speed, distance and curve will once again be staples of this technology.

• Toptracer RF - Toptracer will outfit two RF mini-cameras in order to provide ball tracking graphics and statistics on a player’s second shot from the fairway anywhere on the course.

• ARL Virtual Eye - Virtual Eye uses Toptracer ball tracing capabilities on tee shots within a 3D Hole Model, while simultaneously showing the golfer hit shots from the tee. Virtual flyover animations also return, giving a second shot perspective once the ball comes to rest including GolfTrax information providing key statistical information for both individual players and holes. 

• SwingVision - CBS’ Emmy Award-winning technical innovation, SwingVision, featuring super-slow action to break down players’ swings and demonstrate shots from various locations on the course to capture the dramatic high speed replays of various shots.

• Live Aerial Coverage

Debuting during coverage will be:

• ARL Virtual Signage – Augmented Reality technology will be utilized to virtually place statistics, player information and sponsorship partners on the course with full trackable camera moves so that the images appear to be actually on the course.

• Hawkeye Replay Source – While Hawkeye has contributed to CBS golf coverage on digital platforms in the past, this event will feature for the first time this replay technology integrated into the linear broadcast, with an operator controlling every camera angle remotely from home and contributing with real time replays from action on the course.

CBS Sports' broadcast coverage also will be available to stream live on the CBS All Access subscription service.

GOLF Channel’s Thursday and Friday coverage also will stream live via GOLF Channel Digital. 

GOLF Channel will carry 10 scheduled hours of live tournament coverage Thursday through Sunday, which will be complemented by live pre and post-game analysis and commentary on Golf Central across all four days. Rich Lerner will host Golf Central coverage and be joined by analyst Brandel Chamblee, with Todd Lewis reporting from on-site at Colonial Country Club. Additionally, GOLF Channel will offer expanded opening round live coverage on Thursday, offering viewers an extended live “look-in” of feature group streaming coverage (Noon – 4:00 PM, ET) via PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold. 

PGA TOUR digital platforms will provide additional coverage to support the Charles Schwab Challenge. PGA TOUR LIVE, the TOUR’s Over-The-Top subscription service, will provide free access to the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday, June 11, with a total of 43 hours of coverage during the week. Coverage on Thursday-Friday runs from 7:45 A.M.–7:00 PM, ET, and from 7:45 AM–6:00 PM, ET Saturday and Sunday, ET. New subscribers can sign up via NBC Sports Gold by visitingwww.pgatourlive.com.

Additionally, the TOUR and Twitter are unveiling “Twitter Multicast,” an innovative live content execution that has never been attempted on the social media platform. Twitter Multicast will take place on Thursday from approximately 1:00-2:30 PM (EST) and will showcase athletes, celebrities and other personalities creating their own live, audio/video commentary in conjunction with PGA TOUR LIVE Featured Groups. Finally, the TOUR will launch an all-new TOURCast (https://www.pgatour.com/tourcast.html#/) product that will allow fans to follow every shot from each group with a beautiful 3D rendering of the golf course and shot trails, available on the PGA TOUR’s mobile apps and website for every event on the PGA TOUR schedule through the FedExCup Playoffs.

THE CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE TELEVISION AND DIGITAL SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 11                 

7:45 AM-7:00 PM, ET   PGA TOUR LIVE

Noon-4:00 P.M. ET        GOLF Channel (PGA TOUR Live)

4:00-7:00 PM, ET           GOLF Channel

Friday, June 12                      

7:45 AM-7:00 PM, ET   PGA TOUR LIVE

4:00-7:00 PM, ET           GOLF Channel

Saturday, June 13                  

7:45 AM-6:00 PM, ET   PGA TOUR LIVE

1:00-3:00 PM, ET           GOLF Channel

3:00-6:00 PM, ET           CBS

Sunday, June 14                     

7:45 AM-6:00 PM, ET   PGA TOUR LIVE

1:00-3:00 PM, ET           GOLF Channel

3:00-6:00 PM, ET           CBS

Nantz: “I consider this to be perhaps the most important moment in our country in my lifetime...We have to get this right."

From the lengthy (but-worth-it) CBS conference call preparing us for what to expect with the return of golf coverage.

Jim Nantz on the moment, as reported by Doug Ferguson:

“I consider this to be perhaps the most important moment in our country in my lifetime,” the 61-year-old Nantz said. “We have to get this right. We can't let this opportunity pass. I hope to express that at the top” of the broadcast.

Memorial To Limit Crowds To 8000, Television Crew To Be Reduced To 50%

Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch has more on The Memorial’s plans to be the first COVID-19 era golf tournament with spectators. A maximum of 8000 a day and the elimination of any shuttles should keep things safe, as should other restrictions.

This caught my eye:

Nonsurgical masks will be required upon entry for all attendees, with exempted exceptions recognized.

Temperature readings will be conducted at all entrances and to all those on the property through handheld units and thermal temperature readers.

There will be no on-site bleachers.

Players will be advised to not interact with fans.

All general public shuttle transport will be eliminated.

Media will be limited to 25% of typical attendance, and there will be a 50% reduction in CBS and the Golf Channel’s on-site crew.

That’s a big reduction on the media and TV sides. We’ll learn more Monday about CBS’s plans for covering the first 11 events of the PGA Tour’s return.

Golf.com’s Art Stricklin reports that there will already be one big change: Jim Nantz will be on site with a remote camera and Nick Faldo will not be by his side.

European Tour Chief On Players Wearing Wireless Mics Upon Return: "This is the time for us to do some things completely differently."

in rolling out a revamped UK cluster of tournaments and a # campaign centered around European Tour events giving back, Chief Keith Pelley also suggested the times are expediting initiatives to improve their television product.

From Iain Carter’s BBC report on wider implementation of wireless microphones on players.

"People said when we started doing in-round interviews that it'll never work," Pelley added.

"Now they are a key component of our broadcast. To get an insight into the mind of a professional golfer during the actual moment of deciding whether he is going to hit a five or six iron is fantastic."

Pelley expects players to agree to the move and points out that none will lose European Tour cards at the end of this truncated season. "That reduces the pressure," he said.

"Once you've actually had a wireless mic on in competition and it hasn't affected you in any such way - technology has come so far that it is really, really small and won't disturb your swing - then it just becomes commonplace and a way of life."

More On The Match Ratings: A Younger Audience For The Old Guys

Media and tour executives insist golfers must get younger to attract the demographic coveted by advertisers. That means hyping young players, encouraging them to turn pro earlier and overall, declaring anyone under 30 to be capable of curing cancer while breaking 70 on a daily basis and delivering young eyeballs.

So as more numbers roll in from The Match: Champions For Charity, it’s noteworthy that four guys in their forties—and one about to turn 50—attracted a record rating on cable, robust sales, and even a younger audience than the previous week’s younger foursome for TaylorMade Driving Relief.

First, a recap on the participants, starting with The Match:

Tom Brady 42

Tiger Woods 44

Peyton Manning 44

Phil Mickelson 49

And the TaylorMade Driving Relief foursome:

Matthew Wolff 21

Rickie Fowler 31

Rory McIlroy 31

Dustin Johnson 35

According to Showbuzzdaily.com, almost 1/3 of The Match 2’s audience was in the coveted 18-49 demo and the number was even better on on TruTV, also meaning there are people of any age group who know how to find TruTV:

About 30% of The Match’s audience landed in the 18-49 demo despite the 44.5 average age of the participants.

The numbers for TaylorMade Driving Relief with a foursome averaging 29.5 years:

That’s 25% of the almighty buyers for a younger, supposedly more millennial-friendly group of golfers. And a grand total of (at least) 860,000 fewer viewers 18-49. While not a huge difference in the percentage department, The Match did rout Driving Relief in overall audience and even took chipped away at NASCAR’s ratings.

Given the sometimes blatant ageism in golf and view that young participants translate to a young audience, The Match’s overall dominating win should be noted. But probably won’t.

In other ratings news, Sunday night’s Tiger Slam documentary debut following completion of The Match on Golf Channel failed to land in cable’s top 150 shows.

I discussed what made The Match a success with myself on the latest Shack Show:

The Match Shows Golf Can Be Played Without Fans And Still Captivate

I remain bullish on the idea of the Ryder Cup going forward this year as a tonic of sorts without huge galleries and instead focusing on a stripped-down competition. After The Match and those record-setting ratings, I’m even more confident that a fan-free (or very limited gathering) would be the right thing this year for the biennial matches.

The Match 2, Champions For Charity, confirmed that people will watch something with no fans. In record-setting numbers, actually.

Big caveat: this is as long as the lack of cheering is made up for with production values and other differentiating elements that take us inside the ropes. A day later, it’s clear this sense of tagging along with the group was why The Match worked despite the dreary day at a largely forgettable course free of fans: it felt like we were there, glitches and all.

Sally Jenkins wrote for the Washington Post about the fan-free element in a column headlined: “No crowds meant you could hear the players at the Match II, and some of it was revealing.”

She writes:

Still, it was tremendously entertaining — and informative — to listen to the one-upping asides and to watch the interplay among four men who have been famously buttoned-up competitors. And who normally show their personalities only in marketing campaigns.

Interestingly, you learned that even in a goofy golf situation and unshaven, Woods remains a fairly laconic and methodical sort. Whereas Mickelson, on the other hand, was a real surprise. You never knew he had quite this much effusiveness in him, with his almost epicurean love of a “tasty” contest on every hole. Mickelson’s willingness to explain and instruct the game — and his clear enthusiasm for doing so — was the highlight of the event. And it was something the PGA and networks should consider giving the audience a lot more of.

Uh, we can’t even get them to do a short interview so instruction out of players is unlikely, but certainly Sky has shown with its on-range instruction elements at majors, that there are ways to re-think the show. And with ratings like The Match delivered, it’s very easy to imagine how this might be a significant wake-up call in reconsidering how golf is broadcast.

**Charles Barkley discussed microphones on players during an appearance on Dan Patrick’s show Tuesday.

I think more players will do this , and if they are happy with we analysts talking direct to them, this could be huge! @PGATOUR https://t.co/tW3oea6FHD

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) May 26, 2020

Overnight? Champions For Charity Scores Golf's Largest Cable Rating...Ever

John Ourand reports that second most important number from The Match: Champions for Charity: 5.8 million average viewers, making it the most watched golf broadcast in cable history. (The $20 million raised the most important number.)

While still an overnight, it easily bests the previous week’s relief fund match that drew a 1.5 and total of 2.3 million viewers across three channels, including a 1.5 rating on NBC and a .24 on Golf Channel).

More incredibly, this means The Match 2 out-rated any major championship round on cable.

Given a so-so promotional run-up, a slow start to the show (caused in part by a slight weather delay) a dreary day to watch, and a long telecast, the rating is a stunning statement about the remaining star power of the contestants.

Huge TV numbers for “The Match:” Champions for Charity:

* 5.8 million viewers; most-watched golf event in cable TV history, TNT says.

* Peak of 6.3 million viewers (5:45-6p ET).

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) May 25, 2020

Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com also added several thoughts, including this on the staggering numbers.

Since the majority of sporting events were called off on March 11-12, it ranks at best seventh among sportscasts — behind the first two nights of the NFL Draft, at least three episodes of the ESPN docuseries “The Last Dance” and the previous weekend’s NASCAR race at Darlington (6.32M).

Viewership more-than-doubled the previous weekend’s “Driving Relief” charity event on the NBC family of networks, which saw Rory McIlroy compete against Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff (2.35M).

“The Match” ranks as easily the most-watched golf telecast on any network this year, with the caveat that the season’s first two majors — the Masters and PGA Championship — were postponed. Notably, it averaged more viewers than the final rounds of last year’s PGA Championship (5.0M) and British Open (3.7M).

Remember, The Match did not benefit from the reach of a broadcast network in garnering that rating.

Variety: "TV Networks Bet on Golf to Lure Sports Audiences Back to the Screen"

Variety’s Brian Steinberg talks to various network types to report on how live golf is garnering interest in the ad world at a time when buys are on a severe decline. Whether it’s a scarcity matter or renewed faith in pro golf as a promotional tool, remains to be scene, according to Steinberg:

Others are placing emphasis on golf, too. WarnerMedia has sold all its commercial inventory for its May 24 broadcast of a celebrity golf match between Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning. And CBS is seeing high interest for PGA Tour events it plans to air in June, with appropriate social-distancing requirements. “For us, the PGA starts on June 11 in Texas. We’re seeing very strong demand for that,” said ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish during a recent call with investors.

Golf has long been important to various networks, which fill hours of their weekend schedules televising the Masters and sundry PGA Tour stops. That relationship was spotlighted in early March, when ESPN, CBS and NBC agreed to a new nine-year pact with PGA Tour that could come to at least $680 million.

Whether the current demand reflects a new desire for golf – or for Nascar, another sport that started up last weekend with a race that took place in South Carolina without fans – remains to be seen.

Ratings: "Driving Relief" Draws A Traditional Tour Event-Sized Audience

While NASCAR’s return garnered massive ratings, golf’s “live” return up against most of the first race back did not stand a chance. Why the attempt at competing with non-exhibition sports, we’ll never know. (Golf was the second biggest sports event of the week in terms of eyeballs and just held off a strong challenge from the Beverly Hills Dog Show.)

More importantly: the only number from TaylorMade Driving Relief that matters: $5.5 million and counting raised for COVID-19 related causes, with United Health and Farmers doing the biggest check-writing.

As for the TV audience, golf fans returned. But when the release compares the exhibition with 2019 Tour events, it becomes clear sports fans probably went with NASCAR.

For Immediate Release:

TAYLORMADE DRIVING RELIEF EARNS 2.35 MILLION VIEWERS (TAD) ACROSS NBC, GOLF CHANNEL, NBCSN & STREAMING

Golf’s Return to Television Has Raised More Than $5.5 Million for COVID-19

Relief Efforts So Far; Donations Continue via PGATOUR.com/DrivingRelief

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 18, 2020) – Live golf returned for the first time in two months on Sunday, with TaylorMade Driving Relief supported by UnitedHealth Group, which saw a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.35 million average viewers (2-6:33p ET; P2+) across NBC, GOLF Channel, NBCSN, along with NBC Sports and PGA TOUR streaming platforms. Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson defeated Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in a charity skins match that has raised more than $5.5 million for COVID-19 relief efforts. Donations are continuing at PGATOUR.com/DrivingRelief.

“Sunday’s telecast helped raise awareness for the American Nurses Foundation, CDC Foundation and Off Their Plate, three organizations on the frontlines of COVID-19 relief efforts. It’s a credit to the PGA TOUR, corporate partners and the players for making this event a terrific success,” said Pete Bevacqua, president, NBC Sports Group. “On top of the funds raised for these charitable entities, audiences were treated to their first look at Seminole Golf Club, which ultimately was the fifth star on Sunday in its television debut.”

A 2.35 million TAD for Sunday’s live broadcast is relatively flat for average viewership compared to CBS’ and NBC’s 2nd Quarter 2019 PGA TOUR Final Round average (2.32M vs 2.38M average viewership, -2%). Additionally, Persons 25-54 garnered 762,000 average viewers, up 44% vs. CBS/NBC’s 2019 2nd Quarter PGA TOUR Final Round average.

Golf Take Note: NASCAR's 90-Minute iRacing Series Yields Ideas For Major Change

The LA Times’ venerable sports business writer David Wharton considers NASCAR’s return Sunday—an hour after live golf begins at Seminole—and the recent iRacing invitational series’ impact. (For those from a more experienced demographic, that’s the video game deal.)

While golf was not able to muster up anything like the iRacing series due to various issues and a concern about perception, Wharton notes that NASCAR’s continued concerns about fandom remains a major focus. As noted here, they’ve already instituted efforts to make the racing more strategic again by slowing down cars and ratings have improved.

But post iRacing, they reported attracting new fans who had not watched a real race. The length of races and an open mind to more variety of track settings in a fan-free world, was also noticed.

The success of the 90-minute iRacing broadcasts has reinforced an already existing push for shorter Cup Series events.

“I don’t think we need all those four-hour races,” said Myers, a long-time motorsports fan. “It’s hard to ask a family guy to carve out that much time on a Sunday.”

Shifting away from traditional, oval tracks — at least some of the time — could counteract NASCAR’s reputation as a “left-turn league.”

More road courses, popular in the past, could help. So could the occasional dirt track and street circuits akin to the Long Beach Grand Prix. NASCAR has planned a first-ever doubleheader with IndyCar later in the year.

“It really is about the fans,” NASCAR president Steve Phelps said recently. “We need to make sure we are putting on compelling racing and having full grandstands when we do that.”

Another thing about the iRacing series — it helped personalize a sport born of moonshine runners and larger-than-life personas. Fans saw drivers’ faces normally obscured by helmets and window nets. They listened to favorites talk strategy and crack jokes.

Wharton goes on to note other elements, but should NASCAR put into practice shorter races and more variety of approaches, the lessons for golf could be both tangible and backed up with real data.

Just off the top of my head, the upcoming exhibitions at Seminole and Medalist probably should have been nine holes, and without large gatherings of fans, might the professional game reemerge looking at more “boutique” or remote venues for tournaments?

Olive, Mabel And Andrew Cotter Are Back, Zoom Style

More brilliance from BBC commentator and golf podcaster Andrew Cotter. Previous versions here and here, in case you’ve been in a coma.

Still having the company meetings online. pic.twitter.com/aR3LfuSdKl

— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) May 11, 2020