EXCLUSIVE: The Open viewing figures prove Rory McIlroy right after LIV Golf warning

The concerns of Rory McIlroy appear to be justified as American networks revealed their viewing figures for the Open at Royal Troon as a pattern appears to be emerging at the major championships

Rory McIlroy’s concerns about dwindling TV ratings for golf’s biggest events appear to be justified as the Open drew in its lowest viewership in nearly a decade.

The event at Royal Troon saw Xander Schauffele prevail as he won his second major championship of the year so far – finishing two strokes ahead of his nearest challengers. His showing in the final round at the iconic Scottish course saw him see off the threat of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel to secure the victory.

Despite the drama which unfolded over the weekend, the The 152nd Open Championship experienced a downturn in ratings on American networks NBC and Peacock. In fact, the 3.39 million who tuned in represented the smallest draw for the event since 2015, with this saw its worst ratings in nearly a decade on Sunday and a four per cent drop on the previous year.

This seems to be part of a pattern which which has emerged in recent times of viewing figures largely being on the decrease across the game. Likewise, the final round at the Masters this year saw a drop of 20 per cent in terms of viewers, with CBS drawing in a reported haul of 9.589 million.

These numbers are in line with the warnings issued by McIlroy about the dwindling interest in golf’s major prizes in terms of viewing figures. Speaking previously, the Northern Irishman said: “If you look at the TV ratings of the PGA Tour this year, they’re down 20 per cent across the board. That’s a fifth. That’s big. I would say the numbers on LIV aren’t great either in terms of the people tuning in.

“I just think with the fighting and everything that’s gone on over the past couple of years, people are just getting fatigued, and it’s turning people off men’s professional golf, and that’s not a good thing for anyone. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the four major championships do, or even the three, because put Augusta aside, I think that sort of lives in its own world.”

A vocal critic of stars who had defected to the LIV Golf tour previously, McIlroy does appear to be seeing the bigger picture these days. The four-time major championships victor has admitted that he wants to see the game itself going from strength to strength in spite of the civil war which has ensued in the last few years.