RBC Heritage Scores Massive Ratings, And It Seems Like The Post-Tiger Generation Is Finally Pulling Its Weight

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The general consensus coming into this past week's RBC Heritage was that the PGA Tour was making a mistake by having one of its designated events the week after the biggest tournament in the world. Players and fans alike would have Masters fatigue, a narrative only furthered by Rory McIlroy's withdrawal from the event. It just seemed like a poor time to require the top players to tee it up again after a grueling week in Augusta. 

Turns out, they might actually know what they're doing. 

The RBC Heritage produced a highly compelling finish with reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick beating fan favorite Jordan Spieth in a three-hole playoff as the sun set on Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. Golf Twitter was on fire, but it's always hard to tell if the tournament is resonating with the general sporting audience and not just golf sickos like myself. 

It did indeed resonate—the final round of the Heritage drew in 4.15 million viewers, making it the highest-viewed final round broadcast outside of the Masters, which had its highest ratings since 2018. The Heritage was up 11% over last year, which was also a pretty buzzy final round with Spieth beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. 

It's hard to view this as anything but a win for the PGA Tour and its designated events model. The $20 million purses, plus tying guys' Player Impact Program to participating in 16 of 17 of the designated events, has succeeded in getting major-like fields far more often than in the past, which means big names going toe-to-toe down the stretch far more often. 

The ratings development is particularly encouraging considering Tiger Woods' role—or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Woods withdrew before the final round of the Masters and the ratings were still huge. He didn't play the RBC Heritage at all and the ratings were still huge. It's a tell-tale sign that the post-Tiger generation is, with a nudge from more clever scheduling from the PGA Tour, finally pulling its weight when it comes to pulling in fans. Tiger is obviously a massive boost to any golf tournament, but it no longer seems like having him is necessary to generate buzz. We've got Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa—there's such a solid crew of guys between 26 and 33 that are all superstars with major championship pedigree, and fans are tuning in to watch them even if Woods isn't there. It's great news for the game.