When Australian LPGA star Minjee Lee shot 13-under to win her second major at the US Women’s Open last year in Southern Pines, NC, her finish was broadcast on NBC—one of just nine women’s tour events to bask in the glow of the US network television for a few hours in 2022.
But the effect the spotlight has on the LPGA’s audience is dramatic: Last year, network broadcasts of LPGA events saw 450% more viewership than tournaments that aired on cable.
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This year’s US Women’s Open, which will be played for the first time at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links, is teed up to capitalize on that network bump. The third and final rounds of this weekend’s championship will again air live on network television, but this year in primetime—a first for a women’s golf major—as the USGA, which puts on the US Women’s Open, and NBC looks to double-dip in ratings boosters.
This weekend’s combination of network reach and the time slot could give the event’s conclusion some extra juice considering the viewership spikes the LPGA sees even when it airs in the primetime window on cable. According to the LPGA, in 2022, cable telecasts of tour events that started between 7-8 pm ET saw a viewership boost of about 12% over the full-season cable average.
(In 2022, LPGA viewership across both network and cable increased from pre-pandemic numbers—up 10% on cable and 17% on network television over 2019.)
Last year, NBC covered the end of the final two days of the US Women’s Open—for seven total hours of live, nationally televised network coverage over the course of the four-day event—which concluded at 6 pm and 7 pm ET on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. But with this year’s tournament taking place on the West Coast, the final pairings on NBC will play in primetime territory.
Between NBC, USA Network and Peacock, this year’s event will get 26 hours of live coverage from its broadcast partner, including 12 hours in peak viewing windows on Saturday and Sunday evening when NBC’s coverage will run from 3 pm through 9 pm ET.
All told, NBC Sports will air 450 live hours of LPGA coverage this year, including a record 41 on NBC. That’s compared to the 28 hours of total time the LPGA was on network television in all of 2021.
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing so far. Some fans have called out an underwhelming broadcast product and decried the continued relegation of a good chunk of LPGA air time to Peacock. Most of the final round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last month, for example, would have been played on Peacock, but a fortuitous rain delay bumped the event’s thrilling finish into NBC’s pickup window.
Golf Channel will provide supporting coverage of this weekend’s event with 25 hours of the popular “Live From” programming, which shoulders men’s majors including The Masters.
The fact that the major—which boasts a $10 million purse, tied for the highest on tour with the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship—will take place at the famous Pebble Beach is also expected to draw additional viewers. Courses can be the sole selling point for watching a golf event, as fans are inclined to tune in to see the courses they’ve dreamed of playing and to see how the women perform on storied venues made familiar by the men’s game. As a result, the USGA has spent the last few years intentionally targeting courses that have hosted big-time men’s tournaments as host sites for the Women’s Open.
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