Greg Norman, CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf. Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

LIV Golf posts disastrous TV ratings for season's first event

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 2/27/23

Clearly, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has the attention of golf fans when he's issuing threats to Rory McIlroy or saying that he "pays zero attention" to Tiger Woods. But it doesn't look like fans are as interested in actually watching the Saudi Arabia-funded golf circuit -- and the reason could be simpler than you think.

Norman and his rogue golf tour bent over backward to get a TV deal for LIV Golf's second season. But the season-opening event at El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course this last weekend averaged an embarrassing 0.08 average household viewer rating -- getting outdone, apparently, by an episode of "World's Funniest Animals." The PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational the weekend before, which featured Woods' return to the Tour, had a 1.8 average rating.

For context another CW program, World’s Funniest Animals, outdrew LIV Golf https://t.co/txrkMNW1nq
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) February 26, 2023

While the exact reason why LIV's big TV debut flopped is debatable, it could be as simple as fans waiting for the Masters to watch LIV Golf's top talent compete. One of the biggest stories in the sports world right now is that LIV Golfers like Cam Smith and Dustin Johnson will be competing at Augusta National against PGA titans like McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler -- all of whom have vehemently spoken out against Norman's breakaway golf circuit.

The Masters promises to have plenty of drama, so maybe fans would rather wait to see the fireworks this spring than tune into the CW on a Saturday afternoon.

There's no doubt that Norman and the rest of his LIV Golf cohorts are spinning their wheels right now trying to figure out why their "golf but louder" isn't drawing in the same viewership as PGA Tour events. Until they find a solution, however, it doesn't look like golf fans will be tuning in to watch the likes of Bryson DeChambeau or Phil Mickelson until they head to Augusta in April.

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