Rory McIlroy’s thrilling victory in the 2025 Masters, winning a one-hole playoff over Justin Rose, was a riveting sports experience and plenty of people tuned in for it.
CBS announced Monday that Sunday’s final round — during which McIlroy gained and lost the lead while battling with Rose, Bryson DeChambeau and Ludvig Åberg — drew the highest rating for a golf telecast since 2018.
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Sunday’s telecast averaged 12.707 million viewers, according to CBS. That’s up 33% from last year when Scottie Scheffler had a dominant win over Åberg that lacked the drama of McIlroy’s victory. (And the ratings reflected the missing intrigue.) Viewership peaked between 7 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. ET when the tournament went to a playoff hole.
That seven-year span includes the 2019 Masters, when Tiger Woods won after returning from a back condition that threatened his career. However, the final round was also played much earlier in the day, moved up by a few hours due to impending severe weather. As a result, the telecast averaged 10.8 million viewers, with a peak of 18.3 million from 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET.
The 2018 Masters featured Patrick Reed defeating Rickie Fowler by one shot, while also staving off challenges from Jordan Spieth as McIlroy collapsed in the final round. Viewership for that year’s telecast averaged 13.027 viewers.
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The boost in viewership also seemingly dispels any notion that golf ratings were in decline because many big-name golfers left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. (Of course, LIV players such as DeChambeau and Jon Rahm competed in the Masters.)
Additionally, Sunday’s final round drew the largest streaming audience for a non-NFL broadcast, generating the largest audience ever for a golf event on Paramount+.
