Good news for PGA Tour as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry’s Zurich Classic victory rack up solid viewership numbers
The Zurich Classic saw an uptick in ratings in 2024. The final round, which saw Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry cement their victory with a comeback and a playoff, was up 26% from the year before. It drew 1.852 million viewers, which is far more than 2023's CBS coverage (1.470 million).
Golf reporter Josh A. Carpenter broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter:
"Sunday's final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, won by Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, drew 1.852M viewers on CBS, up 26% from last year (1.470M). It's the most-watched final round for the event since '21 and second-best since 2015. Coverage peaked near 2.8M."
Not only was it a massive upswing from the same tournament the year prior, it was also the most-watched final round of any iteration of the Zurich Classic since 2021. Dating back to 2015, it was the second-most watched final round.
McIlroy and Lowry were evidently must-see television, and there may be a few reasons for that. It's not often that a duo at the Classic has two high-profile golfers like this pairing did. It's also not often that the biggest name in this tournament is in it until the end like McIlroy, the World No. 2 golfer.
It was also the Irishman's first time in this tournament. He'd been hounded by Bubba Watson and others to try out team events over the years, always politely declining. When Lowry came to him at the Ryder Cup last year, he decided to give it a try.
McIlroy revealed beforehand what drove him to finally give in and play in 2024. He said (via Golf Magic):
"I just thought it would be fun to do, going and playing here with a friend and enjoying a week in New Orleans. And going to eat some good food at night and trying to play some good golf during the day. I thought it would be a fun week."
It turned out to be a good decision in many ways. McIlroy won the tournament alongside his friend and the tournament saw much better ratings than in the past. That's significant, especially in an era where Scottie Scheffler's Masters final round didn't see an increase in viewership.
Shane Lowry says Rory McIlroy carried to Zurich win
Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy remained the top duo at the Zurich Classic after four rounds and a win. According to Lowry, he had hardly anything to do with it and deflected all praise following the win.
Lowry said (via SB Nation):
“Let’s go and get 400 [FedEx Cup] points each. That’s what we’ve done, and I nearly feel a little bit bad taking them because Rory carried me a lot of the way.”
Rory McIlroy did hit a tremendous shot to give Lowry a very makeable putt to tie at the end of round four. Lowry obliged and forced a playoff, which they would win over Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer.