In this day and age of the internet, it is important to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. Trends come and go faster than the blink of an eye. Something that was viral one week can be outdated and forgotten the next. In order to adapt to these times, most sports leagues have made deals with influencers within their respective sports. Golf is no different. LIV Golf has brought on people like Rick Shiels to reach the online crowd. The PGA has had several creators play in its events, such as the Bryan Bros. and Brad Dalke. The PGA decided to make its own special event last year called the PGA Tour Creator Classic. This year, the classic saw a massive dip in viewership.
The Inaugural PGA Tour Creator Classic
Last year’s Creator Classic saw some modest success for its first year. In terms of viewership, the first Creator Classic saw an audience of 110,000 live viewers, all on the official PGA Tour YouTube channel. Sure, it didn’t get the usual millions of views that the PGA is used to for its regular events, but for what it was, it was a success. Fans got to see Luke Kwon take the first win of this new PGA tournament. Since that first event, the Creator Classic has seen a total of four events. Three were normal events, but the third was a team tournament. Most recently, it has seen its one-year anniversary with the East Lake Golf Club event in Atlanta.
The 2025 Creator Classic
The PGA Tour 2025 Creator Classic saw a massive dip in views. 27,000 live viewers at its peak compared to last year’s 110,000. How could this have happened after such a strong start just one year ago? One contributing factor is the small field size. Granted, last year the field had fewer than twenty players, but there were still some big names in there. Names like the Bryan Bros, who do frequent PGA Tour events, particularly Wesley Bryan, who often enters as an alternate. This year, some of those names were missing. Wesley Bryan is trying to renegotiate his suspension after participating in a LIV Golf event, which explains his absence.
The Classic also had a lower in-person attendance from fans, so the fields were looking empty. In other words, the hype wasn’t there. Another common complaint that came up was that the event was trying to look like a regular PGA tournament for TV. It works great for TV when a tournament lasts a whole day with over a hundred players. The Creator Classic, however, started as a small event and has stayed small over the past year. All these contributed to a lackluster stream.
The Classic Going Forward
The Creator Classic is a great idea to connect with a changing online landscape. However, to keep it going, it needs to be approached differently from other PGA tournaments. The Creator Classic ended with Brad Dalke making the winning shot. It did manage to make up some viewership after the stream ended. It was also the last one for the year, and there won’t be another until next year. However, none have been scheduled at the time of writing. This is an event that has a lot of potential as a fun, small event for the fans; hopefully, it adapts in a way that keeps it going.
Main Photo Credit: © John David Mercer-Imagn Images
