The Round Table: Scottie and Nelly – which streak has been more impressive?

Each week we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

Final ratings for the Masters are out and show viewership down 20% from last year, which is in line with regular PGA Tour events too. What’s your take on the decline in viewership and TV ratings? And more importantly, what can be done to reverse the trend?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I think it’s a combination of general dissatisfaction among interested-but-not-intense golf fans over the whole schism in professional golf (i.e., PGA vs. LIV), that has taken many of the bigger, popular names out of the mix due to their diminished standings in the World Rankings, and therefore, lack of eligibility to be invited to the Masters.  What’s left on the PGA Tour is a roster of fine but relatively unknown players who haven’t yet established solid credentials or distinct personalities.  Scottie Scheffler continues to demonstrate that he may be the next Jack or Tiger, but there’s not a lot of flair or personality for viewers to get excited about.  And there’s the simple fact that people under 40 aren’t watching TV as much as previous generations.  What’s needed is either a genuine rivalry like Arnie-Jack or Norman-Faldo, or the deification of Scheffler to Tiger status, for ratings to bounce back.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): I think two things are the cause; 1. weather, the weather has generally been good in the northeast/southern states, and golfers much prefer to play the game than watch it. I also partly blame the mess professional men’s golf is in right now. Trying to get into watching a bunch of whiners fighting over millions while not thinking of the fans will tend to have a consequence. Maybe this is the fans saying pay attention to us as we ultimately pay your salaries. No eyeballs/fans/viewership = no corporate support = no/less events and payouts.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: I have written about this more than once. The crowds at Champion Tour events are pathetic. More people attended the Ontario Open in the 1960s than watched at Hawaii. The PGA TOUR lived a charmed life of growth for 60 years using the identical format every week which has become mundane. I dislike Split Screen commercials as you can’t watch either. On-course interviews were recommended over 50 years ago and are fantastic. Then along came Jay Monahan who drove a stake so far through the hearts of players, sponsors, media and fans that the only recourse might be a complete disbandment and re-organization. Quite possibly, the general lack of optimism within the USA is weighing on players, fans, media and sponsors. Golf used to be an environment where personal thoughts weren’t so front and center.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAWayTJ): The multi-million dollar question!  Not sure why viewership is down but it’s in line with my relative indifference to the professional game right now.  I think it’s nice to see Scottie and Nelly dominating and that should bring more eyes to the coverage hopefully, but I guess the big thing needed to increase viewership is to get all the best players in the world playing together, maybe they should think of fixing that!

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: The dramatic drop would have been more than 20 % — already one in five avid golfers — if the obscene “loyalty” payouts to Eldrick and Rory and the elite had been revealed before The Masters. Thanks to LIV and Greg and the gang it’s now all about the zeroes, and true lovers of the game are sick of it. If there is only a 20 % drop again next spring, that will be surprising. Reverse the trend? That train done left the station. Less golf on TV. Make the Majors, on both men’s and women’s tours, matter again, maybe.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): All the talk about money doesn’t help while the loss of elite players to LIV waters down the weekly product. And I would argue that the limited field, no cut events rob fans of some of the drama found in regular events where players struggle to make the cut and a relatively unknown player can emerge out of the pack. Everyone involved in managing professional golf seems to want a travelling road show comprised of superstars making big bucks. That formula works four times a year but too much more than that makes it routine too. If they want to increase viewership, fewer events would be a good place to start. Less is more.

Nelly Korda has now won five straight LPGA events including one major, while Scottie Scheffler has won four out of his past five events with one major and the Players. And he finished T2 at the one he didn’t win. In your opinion, which streak has been more impressive?

Deeks: I can’t pick one over the other.  They’re both otherworldly.

Loughry: I’ll give Nelly the nod here only because she has beaten a larger field of players more often than Scotty during these streaks.

Schurman: They are both impressive but numerically I give Korda the nod. The relative strength of fields is probably deeper on the men’s side, but Korda has one more event without a 2nd. I’m glad the LPGA is finally getting due recognition.

Rule: Both are unbelievable and I hope they continue.  The sport is better when there is a dominant player that all the others are trying to knock off the perch.  In terms of which one is more impressive, that’s tough to say.  It seems easy to say Scottie since he had the second big event in the Players.  But I think the women’s fields are much more competitive since the best players in the world play almost all events, so the fields are tougher for Nelly.  Either way, both streaks are amazing.

Quinn: Aside from the fact Rory should be penalized for suggesting Scheffler’s putter change, the depth and quality of the fields seems to be much stronger on the men’s tour. Korda’s streak is fabulous, but Scottie’s is stunning. It will be very interesting to see how their entire seasons play out.

Mumford: I lean a little towards Nelly too because her streak included a match play event, but both players are off-the-charts good right now. Scheffler in particular seems like he never makes a mistake in shot selection or execution.

Nelly is drawing comparisons to Caitlin Clark, and it’s been suggested she can boost the LPGA the way Clark is boosting the WNBA. However, Korda says the LPGA just needs a better stage to showcase their talents. Showing tournaments on tape delay at less-than-ideal times hurts their marketability and their fan base. Would shifting LPGA events to finish on Saturday be a viable alternative or is there another solution that could raise their ratings?

Deeks: I’m kinda dumbfounded by the LPGA’s inability to build a bigger audience.  There are so many extraordinarily talented players on that Tour, and their (*misogyny alert*!) sex appeal for viewers is so much higher than a generation ago.  Yet the LPGA still struggles to achieve respect.  (Mind you, it seems to me that the Champions and Korn Ferry Tours are now almost on life support for fan interest.  Is there anything more boring than a Champions Tour telecast?)  Giving LPGA events better TV times would certainly help.  But I’d love to see at least one, serious, PGA/LPGA joint competition to prove that the two genders are equally competitive with each other (albeit with tee block allowances), and worthy of viewer attention.  Maybe that’s what Nelly’s referring to: “a better stage to showcase their talents”.

Loughry: I’m not sure comparing these two ladies is apples to apples. As for the LPGA, I think it would be in their best interest to be more strategic about their dates and try and finish on days or times avoiding other major sports.

Schurman: Until recently (the past 8 to 10 years) the LPGA product has been developing to the current standard of a marketable product. There have been several great headliners but not enough to attract the public’s attention. Technology has provided increases in results that appeal to fans. The growth of golf in many countries is producing a wide variety of top golfers so the winners aren’t just American and Korean. The political in-fighting is long past. The use of taped results might not be totally acceptable but given the limited hours available to TV for the entire sports world, the ladies might have to settle for it. I don’t like the Saturday finish idea, but I would enjoy a Monday Night Prime Time show.

Rule: I think that’s a great alternative, as they definitely aren’t getting the majority of the viewership competing against so many other sports on Sundays.  Perhaps having earlier tee times as well to finish earlier in the day or at least not finishing at 6pm Eastern like the PGA Tour would also help.

Quinn: Let’s face it! Unless it’s compelling personalities locked in tight competition on a great course, golf on TV — watching any golf its own self — is boring. In their lifetimes, how many hours have golf fans watched that WTF shot of a ball against the sky? The LPGA  metronomes and the PGA Tour multi-millionaire grinders can’t compete with good local weather, the job jar, or in case of rain, Seinfeld re-runs.  It’s all about not conflicting with the major sports big events. That’s a very narrow window for a niche sport. BTW, for a big chunk of the calendar, Saturdays are reserved for college football.

Mumford: There’s a danger in  assuming that what works for the men will also work for the women. Finding their own time slot (I like the Saturday finish option) and perhaps changing their format occasionally could create a more entertaining product. A focus on the players as not just athletes but as people would add a human touch to the LPGA and let more fans get to know them. That’s bound to increase fan engagement and viewers.