U.S. Open Draws 5.5M Viewers, Still Trails PGA Championship

NBC averaged 5.5 million viewers for the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday, as Wyndham Clark won the tournament for the second time in four years and in front of a hostile Long Island crowd at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

That audience is up 2% from the audience of 5.4 million viewers who tuned in to last year’s U.S. Open Sunday, as J.J. Spaun overcame 150–1 betting odds—and a rain delay—to win his first major championship at Oakmont Country Club.

Sunday’s audience peaked at 9.3 million viewers late in the final round.

The average viewer count marks the second-most watched East Coast-based U.S. Open since 2013, behind the 2024 tournament that drew 5.9 million viewers as Bryson DeChambeau outdueled Rory McIlroy at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. 

U.S. Open audiences are typically higher when the major is played on the West Coast—the 2023 edition at Los Angeles Country Club averaged 6.2 million viewers in the final round.

Third-round coverage from Shinnecock on Saturday averaged 3.7 million viewers, up 3% from last year.

All NBC coverage was simulcast on Peacock, which was NBC Sports’ most-streamed golf event on record, with overall consumption up 13% compared to the 2025 U.S. Open.

Major Comparison

Despite the increase in viewership over last year, the final round of the U.S. Open failed to outrate the PGA Championship for the first time since 2021, and fell to third among the three U.S.-based golf majors this year.

• Masters: 13.99 million (CBS)
• PGA Championship: 5.76 million (CBS)
• U.S. Open: 5.5 million (NBC)

The final round of the PGA Championship in May had a crowded leaderboard that ended with Aaron Rai surprising most fans to win his first major. The Masters drew its largest final-round audience in 11 years as Rory McIlroy won his second consecutive Green Jacket.

The final major of the year, the Open Championship, played in the U.K., almost always draws the lowest U.S. audience of the four majors. Next month’s edition is being played at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Meanwhile, NBC in March averaged 4.4 million viewers for the final round of the Players Championship, which was up 15% from last year.