The 2022 Genesis Invitational featuring all ten of the world top ten drew a final round 1.57/2.6 million average viewership on CBS, down significantly from 2021’s 2.24/3.6 million average when Max Homa beat Tony Finau in a playoff in front of no crowd due to COVID restrictions.
The ‘21 Genesis was competing against a Daytona road race. This year though, the 500 syphoned a lot of casual sports fans despite the return of crowds and some stunning visuals from Riviera. The Daytona 500 was Sunday’s most-watched television program of the entire day, drawing an 8.8 million viewer average and 4.4 rating.
Saturday’s Genesis numbers were well up thanks to 2021’s wind-delay.
Sunday lead-in coverage on Golf Channel also saw a huge decline, drawing a .48/745k average in 2022. That’s down from a .74/1.2 million average in 2021.
The 2021 numbers for comparison:
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Phoenix Open, which ran long and concluded after the Super Bowl had begun, averaged a 2.0 rating and 3.59 million viewers on CBS last Sunday — down a tick in ratings from last year (2.1, 3.69M) but up 16% from two years ago (1.75, 2.87M).
Third round action the previous day drew a 1.5 and 2.43 million, flat in ratings compared to last year (1.5, 2.24M)
