For Patrick Reed, the 2025 LIV Golf Dallas event was thrilling in every possible way. After holding a three-shot lead from his Saturday round’s score of 68, Reed carded a 3-over 75, finishing at 6-under par. In Sunday’s four-man playoff, he tied with Jinichiro Kozuma, Louis Oosthuizen, and Paul Casey. Despite the challenge, he sealed the win with a birdie on the first playoff hole, successfully clinching his first LIV Golf title. Sure, it thrilled him – his post-win smile said so! But was it the same for the viewers?
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The viewership numbers for the 2025 LIV Golf Dallas suggest otherwise, especially when compared to those of the PGA Tour. According to Josh Carpenter’s report, the event drew 333,000 viewers on FOX on Friday, 39,000 on FS2 for the second round on Saturday, and 263,000 on FOX the same day. The final round on FS2 attracted only 75,000 viewers, with Patrick Reed‘s playoff win averaging 163,000 viewers on Fox and FS2 combined. Now, how did the rival league perform during the same week?
Better. Much better, in fact. According to Josh Carpenter’s updates, CBS’s Sunday broadcast of the 2025 Rocket Classic final round, featuring Aldrich Potgieter‘s win, drew 2.797 million viewers. This marks a 13% increase from last year’s 2.472 million and is the highest viewership since 2020. In the previous two years, 2.450 million viewers watched Rickie Fowler, and 2.477 million tuned in for Tony Finau. In fact, this tournament also witnessed a playoff between five Tour golfers.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time LIV Golf has struggled with viewership numbers compared to the PGA Tour. The viewership disparity was once again stark at the 2025 LIV Golf Virginia, where the Sunday round attracted just 97,000 viewers. In contrast, the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, held the same weekend, drew a massive 2.376 million viewers in its final round – a truly staggering difference. However, despite Patrick Reed’s $4M win, the golf fans are taking a dig at him.
Golf fans are in splits over the poor viewership during Patrick Reed’s win
One fan couldn’t help but show their disbelief over LIV Golf Dallas’ viewership numbers despite Patrick Reed’s win: “More people watched Thursday/Friday coverage of the Rocket Classic on Golf Channel than watched the 2nd round of LIV on Fox. That’s rather insane.” We already know the weekend numbers at the 2025 Rocket Classic. However, as per Josh Carpenter’s reports, although the numbers represented an 11% decline, the 2025 Rocket Classic’s Thursday and Friday rounds on Golf Channel still drew 361,000 viewers!
A fan said, “Yikes man. This is real bad,“ and another said, “Better then its been in the past with bigger names ,weird.” This isn’t the first time LIV Golf has seen underwhelming viewership numbers during big-name wins. At the 2025 LIV Golf Korea, Bryson DeChambeau claimed the title, but the Sunday round attracted a mere 48,000 viewers. The same happened when Sergio Garcia claimed his first 2025 LIV Golf title in Hong Kong. During the Sunday round of the 2025 LIV Golf Hong Kong event, only 29,000 viewers chimed in.
Two fans said, “There is no market for this product in America,” while another said, “This tour couldn’t be any more irrelevant. What a train wreck.” While LIV Golf has attracted high-profile players with lucrative contracts, it faces significant challenges in establishing a sustainable market and achieving widespread popularity. Although it secured a deal with Fox Sports, many view it as a lifeline rather than a sign of strong market demand.
Additionally, Jay Monahan & Co. suggest that the main issue in the stalled merger talks is Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s insistence on incorporating a team concept into any potential deal, which the PGA Tour is reluctant to accept. So, is there a market for LIV Golf’s “product in America?” You be the judge of that.