The PGA Tour just received an unambiguous warning: the Sony Open’s final round drew barely one-third of last year’s figure when NBC provided a lead-in.

“Got lost a bit with the MLK holiday delay, but Golf Channel drew 106,000 viewers for the final round of the Sony Open (Chris Gotterup winner). This year was on Golf Channel only; last year, NBC had the lead-in/promo to the GC coverage, which drew 344K (panel only) for the final round,” Sports Business Journal analyst Josh Carpenter wrote on X. “Thursday (222K) and Friday (216K) actually had higher viewership than the weekend this year, magnifying the NFL/football impact on numbers.”

The lack of on-field drama played a primary role in this massive Sunday ratings collapse. In 2025, Nick Taylor won the tournament in a thrilling, two-hole playoff over Nico Echavarria, after an improbable chip-in eagle on the 72nd hole to force the playoff. The victory was Taylor’s fifth PGA Tour title, and his third consecutive win coming via a playoff. In contrast, 2026 saw Chris Gotterup effectively demolish the field single-handedly with a final-round 64. His two-stroke victory lacked the back-nine duel that casual viewers usually crave during the weekend finish.

Compounding the issue was the early exit of the tournament’s biggest draws. Several fan favorites, including Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, and Tony Finau, either struggled with the breezy conditions or left the tournament early. These stars traditionally move the needle and drive betting liquidity among the global audience. Without these recognizable names, the leaderboard failed to inspire any significant social media chatter on Sunday.

The viewership was further affected by a field lacking #1 Scottie Scheffler, along with big names like Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. Scheffler opted to begin his season the following week at The American Express. Rory McIlroy stayed in Dubai. And Schauffele’s hometown Farmer Open to start the season.

Another factor for the ratings collapse was the direct clash with the NFL Divisional Round playoffs. On Sunday, January 18, 2026, the sports world was dominated by two massive matchups:

• New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans: This game drew a massive 38 million viewers, becoming the most-watched event in ESPN’s history.

• Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears: Airing on NBC in primetime, this game averaged 45.4 million viewers.

The NFL’s dominance in the American media landscape is absolute. In 2025, 181 of the top 200 most-watched telecasts in the USA were sports-related. And the NFL dominated the top 200 with a combined 136 spots.

Since 2022, the overall viewership of the PGA Tour has been declining. The primary reason for this was the LIV emergence, and the audience being divided. 2023-2024 saw the introduction of signature events, and viewership-wise, it was a partial success. 2025 saw a mixed pattern. There were a few big wins for some events, while a few struggled.

• The 2025 PGA Tour final-round coverage on CBS/NBC averaged 3.1 million viewers, significantly outperforming rival LIV Golf.
• Masters 2025 saw 12.7 million viewers, the highest since 2018.
• RBC Heritage 2025 roped in 4.36 million viewers, the highest in 23 years.
• The 2025 season saw a 19% increase in viewership for the six signature events on CBS.
• The PGA Championship drew 4.76 million viewers, a slight decrease from 2024.

Now, this viewership crisis arrives at a time when the Sony Open’s future in the Tour is at a crossroads.

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The sponsor clock is ticking, and the calendar is under review

All of this is happening at a precarious time for the tournament’s long-term financial stability. Sony has served as the title sponsor for twenty-seven years, raising twenty-six million for local charities. However, their current contract expires after the 2026 season with no renewal announcement in sight.

The “Future Competition Committee” led by Tiger Woods is currently weighing the value of this stop. This committee has a ‘blank slate’ to redesign the entire competitive model for the 2027 season.

Tournament director Ray Stosik recently noted the mounting anxiety saturating the San Diego and Hawaii communities. He stated that the Tour has not yet released the definitive 2027 schedule for everyone. Potential sponsors are waiting for schedule clarity before they commit to any expensive new deals today. The uncertainty of the new model has essentially frozen the sponsorship market for early-season events.

“People want to know about the future, and at this time the PGA Tour has not announced its 2027 schedule,” Stosik said. “And I’ve been hearing that they may not release the ’27 schedule until late March or early April, so I don’t think that there’ll be any answers coming shortly, but I have no idea.”

Even the winner, Chris Gotterup, expressed hope that he would not be the last champion.”Hopefully. I’m not the last champion,” Gotterup said.