DeChambeau And McIlroy US Open Tussle Leads To 11-Year NBC Record

Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy served up a US Open classic in the final round of the Pinehurst No.2 Major.

The LIV Golf and PGA Tour stars slugged it out throughout the day, with McIlroy opening up a two-shot lead on the back nine before his putter let him down to give DeChambeau the chance he needed to close out his second US Open title.

It was truly edge-of-the-seat stuff to offer a conclusion befitting an enthralling four days of action, and the TV-watching public responded by sending figures to an 11-year high for an east coast edition of the tournament.

Per NBCSports.com, the overall final-round coverage produced a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 5.9m viewers in the seven-hour window. That’s a 9% increase on the last time the Major was held on the east coast, in 2022 at the Country Club of Brookline, which was won by Matt Fitzpatrick and watched by 5.4m. The 5.9m figure is also the best for an east coast edition since the 2013 edition at Merion, which was won by Justin Rose.

Peak viewing numbers were recorded on NBC/Peacock between 6.15pm ET and 6.30pm ET, when 11.4 million tuned in, while 11.3 million watched between 6.30pm ET and 6.45pm ET – the highest in nine years across all US Opens.

The main broadcast coverage for the tournament overall produced a TAD of 3.1m, which offers further encouragement as the figure surpassed the previous six editions, while the figure is again the best for an east coast edition since 2013.

The tournament was also NBC Sports' most-streamed golf event on record, while Sunday’s final round was Peacock’s most-streamed golf telecast of all time. Across all feeds, it was also NBC Sports’ most-streamed golf event in history, up 17% on 2023 when Wyndham Clark took the title at Los Angeles Country Club.

Earlier in the year, there had been worrying TV viewing numbers from some high-profile men’s tournaments, including The Players Championship, and both McIlroy and DeChambeau voiced their concerns over the trend amid the uncertainty over the PGA Tour’s future relationship with LIV Golf.

Before April’s Valero Texas Open, McIlroy said: “I know this isn’t a be-all, end-all, but if you look at the TV ratings of the PGA Tour this year, they’re down 20 percent across the board. That’s a fifth. That’s big.

““That’s where I said like things need a correction and things are unsustainable because I’m close with NBC and the people that really care about these things and the people that tune in to watch golf. You know, 20% is a pretty jarring number this year.”

The same week, DeChambeau pleaded for an agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV Golf to happen sooner rather than later.

Before LIV Golf Miami, he said: “It needs to happen fast. It's not a two-year thing. Like, it needs to happen [sooner] rather than later just for the good of the sport. Too many people are losing interest."

Now, it appears that thanks to the pair’s epic tussle in the final round of the US Open, they have helped reengage TV viewers to give the men’s elite game a much-needed boost in the process.