Michael Block helped save surprisingly dismal PGA Championship ratings

Regardless of Michael Block changing into a global sensation, Brooks Koepka claiming his fifth main title, and Oak Hill’s East Course drawing rave opinions, the 2023 PGA Championship had shockingly low scores.

Viewership was down 14% in comparison with final yr’s match, gained by Justin Thomas, per Sports activities Media Watch.

These numbers additionally signify a 15-year low for CBS, which has broadcasted the PGA Championship yearly since 1991.

15 years in the past, Padraig Harrington gained the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, however Tiger Woods didn’t play in it on account of his season-long knee harm.

Woods didn’t play this yr both, as he had surgical procedure on his ankle following the Masters.

However Woods withdrew from the 2023 Masters earlier than Sunday’s ultimate spherical. Even then, CBS drew “huge” numbers for its Easter Sunday protection at Augusta Nationwide.

But, the identical can’t be stated for this yr’s second main championship, which was fairly memorable.

Koepka, maybe the most effective golfer of the post-Tiger period, claimed his third PGA Championship.

Picture by Andy Lyons/Getty Photographs

Scottie Scheffler, now the number-one ranked participant on this planet, shot a 5-under par 65 on Sunday to complete tied for second.

Viktor Hovland, the 25-year-old Norwegian, suffered one other main heartbreak on 16, however not earlier than being in rivalry all afternoon.

Rory McIlroy, perhaps the most important {golfing} star of the twenty first century exterior of Woods and Phil Mickelson, produced some early fireworks that ignited the Rochester crowd. Ultimately, nonetheless, McIlroy couldn’t get his driver to cooperate, because the Northern Irishman completed tied for seventh.

And Oak Hill’s fifteenth gap produced the second of the yr, with Block dunking in a hole-in-one, which despatched the whole course right into a frenzy.

Regardless of these large storylines, CBS suffered a major loss on Sunday.

Rochester, NY has the nation’s 77th largest tv market, however the measurement of a match’s host metropolis has nothing to do with the scores.

CBS will hope its viewership bounces again when the 2024 PGA Championship returns to Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.