ESPN felt the absence of Tiger Woods at the 2025 Masters when it came to their first-round viewership numbers of the storied event on Thursday, which were down a drastic 28% compared to the opening round in 2024. And while Friday’s ratings were a step in the right direction, it remains clear just how big of a draw Woods truly has been for the sport.
Round Two coverage of the Masters on ESPN on Friday averaged 3.1 million viewers, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.
This is a drastic increase from the 2.3 million viewers that tuned into the opening round on Thursday, but still 14% down year-over-year from their Round Two coverage in 2024. Overall, ESPN’s two-day average of 2.7 million viewers marks a 21% viewership decrease from last year.
Masters Update: ESPN’s 2nd round coverage Friday averaged 3.1M viewers, down 14% from 2nd round in ’24. However, that was up 35% from ESPN’s 1st round coverage on Thursday which drew 2.3M viewers. ESPN’s 2-day average of 2.7M down 21% from last yr when Tiger Woods was in field. pic.twitter.com/ySpMu0aOAr
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) April 12, 2025
The biggest stars in the sport, like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson DeChambeau, found themselves near the top of the leaderboard. This begs the question. Why is viewership down so significantly when the stars are performing like stars?
One clear answer is Tiger Woods’ absence, who is missing out on this year’s Masters after undergoing surgery in March for a ruptured left Achilles tendon.
Despite the fact that Woods hasn’t seriously contended for a major since winning the Masters in 2019, it has been a yearly tradition for casual golf fans to come together to root for Woods at the Masters every year.
Woods no longer competes regularly. But he is still undoubtedly the biggest star in the sport, which is perhaps a bit of a problem for the sport considering Woods’ recent health struggles in the past few years.
Friday’s viewership numbers are perhaps further proof that the Masters truly isn’t the same without Tiger Woods. But perhaps as action continues to heat up over the weekend, more of the casual golf audience will start to tune in more over on CBS.
