There’s hardly any name as big as Tiger Woods in the golf world. Emphasizing the same, Lucas Glover put all the pressure on Tiger to revive the Champions Tour. Golfers who have turned 50 are eligible to participate in the tournament, and that’s what Lucas will be in 2029.
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When asked if the 45-year-old sinking PGA Tour would still be there until 2029, he responded that it all depends on Woods. “If he decides to go out there and play, it’ll be there. I think he holds the cards there, too,” said Glover.
What the US Open champion said is true. Time and again, the 15x major winner has proven that he has an unparalleled influence on golf viewership and commercial interest. Remember the 2018 TOUR Championship, where Tiger helped surge average viewership to 7.8 million for the final round just by participating. That was an impressive 212% increase over 2017. It was the highest-rated TOUR Championship broadcast, with 10.84 million peak viewership.
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Previously, in the 1997 Masters, Tiger’s skills on the golf course attracted the highest number of viewers. It was the most-watched PGA Tour event ever with 20.3 million viewers. It’s not just the PGA Tours, either. LIV Golf started in 2022 and can still manage an average viewership of only 300,000 to 500,000. On the contrary, Tiger’s debut in TGL in 2025 brought in over 1 million viewers on ESPN.
“Even the few times he’s played in the last couple years, unfortunately, those events have gone crazy,” said Lucas on the Any Given Monday podcast on Wednesday. The numbers tell you the entire story. His association alone is enough to bring in more views and commerce.
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Although his participation has not previously helped save a PGA Tour event, he can do so for the Champions Tour, now PGA Tour Champions. That’s precisely what Lucas thinks. “The best thing that could possibly happen to the Champions Tour is if Tiger commits to playing it, even if it’s only five or six times out there,” Lucas said.
One of the primary reasons the PGA Tour Champions is sinking is that it lacks stardom power. Many stars like Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, and John Daly have not committed to regular participation in the senior circuit due to health restrictions or personal preferences.
This reduces interest from fans, which ultimately influences commerce, leading to structural changes. One such change is the reported elimination of Q-School cards from the PGA Tour Champions. One can only wonder if the move is to ensure that big names who performed on the PGA Tour become more eligible.
It is clearly visible in the declining ratings. For example, recent PGA Tour Champions events attracted 60,000 to 200,000 viewers per day. They had average ratings between 0.02 and 0.06. This is very low compared to regular PGA Tour events, where viewership ranges in the millions.
The PGA Tour is taking several steps to increase the declining viewership, not only for the Champions Tour but for all its events.
PGA Tour strategies to increase PGA Tour Champions viewership
Since the lack of stardom is a key reason behind the decline, the PGA Tour is attempting to attract top golfers. Besides eliminating Q-School cards, it also made changes to the Insperity Invitational in 2025. For instance, Medalists from Qualifying Tournaments were removed, and the top 36 Prior Year Points became eligible.
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Similarly, the PGA Tour is changing the structure of the games for some events. Organizers made some crucial changes for the James Hardie Pro-Football Hall of Fame Invitational. It is a pro/celebrity event. Played in 26 groups, 13 groups had 2 celebrities and 2 pros, and the remaining 13 had all pros. Such events are important to draw in more attention from fans and golfers alike.
Lucas’s expectation of Tiger is genuine. Despite all the changes the PGA Tour is making, the senior circuit is sinking. However, if Woods plays the PGA Tour Champions, the event will most probably become a success and give it a boost.
