A golf fan scrolled through social media on Black Friday afternoon and saw a highlight: Keegan Bradley wins the Skins Game. His first thought wasn’t congratulations—it was “Wait, that was today?”

That question echoed across the golf world on November 28, 2025. The Capital One Skins Game returned after 17 years with four major stars and a $4 million purse. Amazon Prime Video held exclusive streaming rights. Pro Shop, Propagate Content, and PGA Tour Studios produced the broadcast. Yet most golf fans discovered the event existed only after it ended.

Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, and Shane Lowry competed at Panther National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. All four battled in the 2025 Ryder Cup months earlier. The star power should have generated massive buzz. Instead, the 9 a.m. ET start time came and went. By afternoon, social media was flooded with complaints: nobody knew it was happening.

The marketing failure became impossible to ignore. Even hardcore fans missed it entirely. The timing made things worse. Nine a.m. ET meant 6 a.m. on the West Coast. Black Friday morning, when most Americans sleep in.

The Skins Game debuted in 1983 as must-see holiday golf. Legends like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods made it iconic. It ran annually through 2008 before vanishing. Television ratings plummeted, and title sponsor LG pulled out, leaving the format dormant for nearly two decades.

The 2025 return promised a fresh start. The reverse purse format set each player’s starting amount at $1 million. Money fluctuated throughout 16 holes based on skins won or lost. The event didn’t require a Prime subscription, making it freely accessible.

Bradley dominated with 11 skins worth $2.1 million. His $900,000 putt on hole 12 ranked as the second-richest in Skins Game history. Fleetwood finished second at $1.7 million after winning the final hole for $1,125,000. Lowry grabbed one skin for $200,000. Schauffele walked away empty.

Black Friday represented a massive missed opportunity. Amazon successfully drew millions to NFL games the same day. The Skins Game vanished into the streaming void instead.

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Golf fans flooded social media with marketing complaints

Social media erupted with frustration. One Instagram user captured it perfectly: “Would’ve loved to know this was going on.” One sports analyst posed the obvious question: “Do you feel like people knew it was on or where to find it? None of my golf friends even knew it was on.”

The awareness gap extended beyond casual viewers to dedicated golf enthusiasts. Another golf enthusiast admitted bluntly, “I didn’t know such a thing existed anymore.” The marketing budget became a recurring theme in the criticism. One fan asked what everyone was thinking: “Was the marketing budget $0?” Another delivered the same message with bite: “Good marketing! Let me know after it is done!”

The timing complaints arrived just as quickly as the marketing criticism. A frustrated viewer unloaded on multiple fronts: “Great job of marketing this. Heard about this afternoon after it was over. Also, whose idea was it to play it at 9 am…on a day most of America has off from work and is sleeping in.” Another didn’t mince words about the West Coast timing: “6AM west coast start after Thanksgiving is stupid.”

Sports journalist Adam Schupak acknowledged the quality while questioning engagement. He noted that, based on his group of friends, a guy on an airplane, and social media chatter, casual sports fans didn’t buy into the foursome. People who wanted to watch couldn’t find it. No official viewership numbers have been released. Nielsen hasn’t published ratings. Amazon remains silent on metrics.

The streaming era’s challenge is simple: exclusive doesn’t mean invisible. Future golf events must learn this lesson. If you bring back a beloved event after 17 years, tell people it’s happening. Amazon’s sports strategy now faces scrutiny. Will organizers adjust timing and promotion strategies for future editions?

The 2025 Skins Game proved one thing. Great players, grand format, great course—all meaningless if fans can’t find you.