Brooks Koepka won the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday at the PGA Championship and earned a substantial salary. However, his main source of joy came from Michael Stanley, a little-known club pro who scored an ace during the final round of the tournament at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Brock, 46, was one of 20 club pros who qualified for the tournament and became the only player to make an ace during the event. He finished tied for 15th on the leaderboard and secured a spot in the 2024 PGA Championship. Despite this exciting moment, the final round of the PGA Championship had the lowest viewership for the most important round of the tournament since 2008.
Koepka, who has become one of LIV Golf’s big names, won his fifth major after joining the LIV, sparking a controversial Saudi Arabian conflict in professional golf. He is now officially among golf’s elite and a polarizing figure, but it remains uncertain how his win will impact major league TV ratings. The US Open is the next major event in golf and will be held in June.
The 148th Preakness Stakes was won by Rombauer at the Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, with an average viewership of 5.01 million on NBC. This was down from last year’s 5.26 million viewers for the race and had the lowest average viewership outside of Preakness. Trainer Bob Baffert also made headlines during the event.
In NHL hockey, game one of Florida Panthers’ win over the Carolina Hurricanes in four overtimes had an average viewership of 1.43 million on TNT. This was down 39% from last year’s game, and viewership peaked nearly at 2 am due to the game starting late.
The WNBA’s 27th season began on Friday and the weekend, with the Las Vegas Aces defeating the Seattle Storm 105-64, averaging 684,000 viewers. Britney Griner played her first game for the Phoenix Mercury after spending months imprisoned in Russia, and the game averaged 683,000 views. Last season, the WNBA had its highest average viewership in 14 years on CBS and Disney networks.
The 107th Indianapolis 500 was broadcast on NBC, and Marcus Ericsson was the winner. Last year’s race had an average viewership of 4.8 million, making it the second-lowest-watched race of all Indy 500s. The race was scheduled to start at 12:45 pm, and the coverage started at 9 am.
The softball World Series finals will begin on June 7, with all games live on ESPN. Last year’s University of Oklahoma’s title-winning hitter had an average of 1.7 million viewers, with a peak of 2.1 million viewers. On the men’s side, the college baseball World Series finals will begin on June 24, and Ole Miss’ two championship series wins last year had an average of 1 million viewers.
Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix will take place and will be covered by ABC, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes starting at 8 am. All races averaged 1.4 million viewers on ESPN last year. The Belmont Stakes is the final round of Thoroughbred horse racing’s triple crown race, held on June 10th. The Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR races will also take place on Sunday, with the race airing on Fox at 6 pm.