McIlroy’s Masters victory showed why he is the most marketable golfer of a generation

I’ve felt increasingly apathetic towards professional golf as the sport has become more divided, but I’ve still been compelled to watch the final round of three tournaments over the last few years – The Open at St Andrews in 2022, last year’s US Open and The Masters on Sunday.

It is unlikely that any golfer will ever move the needle in the same way that Tiger Woods did in his pomp, but McIlroy is the player of his generation that has come closest.

Looking through a European lens, that may well be considered a biased take, but there is evidence to back it up. Sunday’s final round at Augusta, where McIlroy overcame his demons to secure the green jacket that has for so long eluded him, averaged 12.7 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched golf broadcast on any US network in seven years.

The Northern Irishman also helped to deliver the most-watched day ever for UK broadcaster Sky Sports, which saw a peak audience of 1.85 million tune in as McIlroy sealed victory in a playoff with Justin Rose.

Those figures speak both to the enormity of McIlroy’s achievement in becoming just the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam, which would have generated interest among casual viewers, and just how invested sports fans have become in him finishing what he started.

Like Woods, McIlroy was a childhood prodigy and had four major crowns by the time he was 25, leading the great Jack Nicklaus to predict that he could end his career with as many as 20 titles. However, the last 11 years have been a story of near misses, internal battles, and hyper analysis from critics who have accused McIlroy of failing to deliver under pressure.

Source: SportsPro.com