Max Homa Blasts Players for Leaving Viewers ‘Nauseated’; Says Fans Are Fatigued Despite ‘Incredible’ Masters

Published 04/17/2024, 9:39 PM EDT

Different professionals had different reactions to the low viewership numbers at the recent major. While Wyndham Clark did not agree with the dip in ratings, Scottie Scheffler just went ahead and accepted the bitter truth. However, for Max Homa, it seems he was hopeful of a better future all the while divulging what he thought was the main reason behind the recent low figures for the Masters, none other than the players.

The 33-year-old admitted to the same in an interview ahead of the next PGA Tour event, the RBC Heritage, when posed with a query regarding the change in attitude of the average fan of the sport. Responding to the question, Homa accused how the professionals of the game, both LIV and PGA Tour pros, were only concerned about themselves and not the fans; “I think we hit this year-and-a-half- or two-year rut as both golfers and golf leagues that was just about making the players happy, and unfortunately and quite obviously the fans were not benefitted by that.”

The reason? Well, the men’s circuit, especially the PGA Tour had been hit with low viewership numbers for a while now. And, the situation at the Masters was not different, with a 20% dip as opposed to last year despite it being a fantastic one, as per Homa; “Each event on-site has felt amazing. The Masters was incredible. Bay Hill… THE PLAYERS was awesome.”

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Adding on, he mentioned how it’s not surprising to see the fans are tired from all the drama that took place in the golfing world. Elaborating on the same, the 9-time PGA Tour champ said, “What I’m seeing with those numbers and all that, it does seem like yeah, I would imagine fans have fatigue. They probably should have fatigue… It’s quite nauseating.”

What’s more, Homa made sure to highlight how important the fans of the sport really are to the game of golf. Moreover, he also expressed his hope for a better viewing experience for the audience in the near future; “We’ve been shown that we are nothing without those watching us, and they can stop watching us whenever they’d like. Hopefully, more innovation will go into making their viewing process a lot more engaging and fun because that’s why we get to do this.” Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark would probably not agree with the 33-year-old.

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Wyndham Clark slams TV ratings unlike Max Homa

Clark seems to be of the opinion that the game of golf is growing, unlike what the numbers say. Despite the recent Sunday round of the Masters only drawing in 9.589 million people, thereby dubbing it the lowest final round since 2021, the 2023 U.S. Open champ made sure to express his uncertainty regarding the same as well; “I think that’s, in my opinion, a little bit of a skewed stat because it makes no sense that every part of the game is growing but yet the professional level isn’t. “

Moreover, he also inquired if the figures that were released in the report only alluded to cable TV since the younger generation rarely uses it anymore but streams the day’s play. Consequently, he attributed the same to the dismal TV ratings as he said, “No one at my age right now is consuming TV via cable, they’re doing it on streaming — if that’s Amazon or whatever it is. They’re streaming it.

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These are but two contradicting views on what apparently is the reason behind the low numbers. Regardless, one thing is for sure; the game of golf does have a lot of drama going on. But, if it has gone ahead and affected the fan mentality leading to low numbers, that is something only time will tell us.

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Written by:

Allan Abe is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Master’s Degree in English, he has covered many themes in golf as a beat writer, with in-depth coverage of instances of many golfers’ lives, like Bubba Watson and Adam Scott. Allan particularly excels at live coverage and a hole-to-hole analysis of events.

Edited by:

Arijit Saha

Max Homa Blasts Players for Leaving Viewers ‘Nauseated’; Says Fans Are Fatigued Despite ‘Incredible’ Masters

Wyndham Clark slams TV ratings unlike Max Homa

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