Bryson DeChambeau, the infamous “disrupter” of the golf world, lost to a PGA Tour player for the second time in his bid to secure a major win. The latest one came against the “gentle” Scottie Scheffler, the Texan who secured his third major win. However, despite the electric back-and-forth on the leaderboard and Scheffler’s amazing return to power, Bryson DeChambeau comes on top for one thing: TV viewership.

The comparison started with Scottie Scheffler’s latest win at the PGA Championship. Despite Scheffler’s popularity, it appears that Golf TV faces a Scottie Scheffler problem. According to a recent report from Josh Carpenter, ESPN’s coverage on Friday attracted an average of 1.3 million viewers, reflecting a 21% drop from last year’s 1.6 million. On Saturday, CBS’s third round drew an average of 3.11 million viewers, representing a 12% decrease compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the final round on CBS attracted around 4.76 million viewers, reflecting a 4% decline from Xander Schauffele‘s win in 2024 but a 5% increase compared to Brooks Koepka’s victory in 2023. During the final round, viewership peaked at 6.9 million in the 5:45 PM ET quarter-hour, making it the least-watched final round since 2008, except for the 2023 event that coincided with the Beijing Summer Olympics, which drew 4.02 million viewers. The issue? Bryson DeChambeau is doing much (much) better with numbers.

Take, for instance, his 2024 U.S. Open win. NBC’s coverage of the 2024 U.S. Open became the most-viewed East Coast broadcast of the tournament since 2013, attracting 5.9 million viewers. The final round peaked at 11.4 million viewers during the 6:15-6:30 PM quarter-hour and 11.3 million during the 6:30-6:45 PM quarter-hour. Why this particular difference, however? After all, Scottie Scheffler is enjoying a pretty good season. Well, to understand that, let’s take an example.

After his 2024 U.S. Open win, DeChambeau fulfilled his promise to fans by allowing them to touch the trophy, bringing it around to the large crowd gathered at the 18th green. Fans went wild! Even Schauffele, who is admittedly less popular than Scheffler, attracted better numbers? Is this an indication that Scottie Scheffler will need to up his dramatics and become a people-centric golfer like Dechambeau? Well, the TV viewership numbers will appreciate that.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Scheffler’s win has resulted in lower viewership. The Masters Tournament experienced a similar trend in viewership compared to Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 win. This year, Rory McIlroy’s victory averaged 12.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched final round of the Masters since 2018 and the highest-rated golf telecast during that time. In stark contrast, Scheffler’s 2024 win attracted 9.589 million viewers, representing a 20% decline from Jon Rahm’s 2023 Masters victory, which drew 12.06 million viewers. However, that viewership number could, in part, also be because of the anticipation for McIlroy’s Grand Slam. However, just because the viewership numbers are struggling for Scottie Scheffler doesn’t mean his on-course records are as well.

Scottie Scheffler has more than one record in his hands after the PGA Championship win

Sure, if the viewership numbers indicate anything, it’s that Scottie Scheffler needs to generate more excitement (and numbers) for the respective leagues and majors. However, outside of that, he is performing better than most players. Scheffler, who finished with a 71 to secure a five-shot win at Quail Hollow Club, is now halfway to achieving the career Grand Slam, having already claimed the Masters titles in both 2022 and 2024. His latest PGA Championship win has placed him on elusive lists alongside both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus—not just one list, but two.

The first record, highlighted by Justin Ray, shows that the current World No. 1 has joined Woods (24) and Nicklaus (25) as the only golfers to win three or more majors and 15 or more PGA Tour events before turning 29. Furthermore, he stands alongside these legends as one of the few golfers to win multiple Masters, multiple Players Championships, and at least one PGA Championship. Additionally, he became only the second golfer in the last century to win his first three majors by three or more strokes, following Adam Scott. But, hey, that’s not all.

Scheffler has held the World No. 1 ranking for 105 consecutive weeks. In total, he has been recognized as the world’s top player for a combined 140 weeks. Maybe one day the viewership issue will get resolved as well.