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Sunday’s final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii drew its largest audience in 10 years despite strike-limited coverage, the Golf Channel said.
According to several sources, Pattron Kizzire’s six-hole playoff victory over James Hahn attracted an average of 524,000 viewers per minute. That was up 86 percent from 2017, the Golf Channel said in an email.
In addition to the drama of the six additional holes, the event also benefited from not having to go head to head with the NFL playoffs for much of the final round as it did in 2017.
Coverage was scaled back due to a strike by members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees at the Waialae Country Club Course Sunday morning, where pickets lined the entry road. Negotiations on a new contract with the Golf Channel stalled after nine months, the parties said.
The event drew an average of 343,000 for Thursday’s opening round, according to ShowBuzz Daily.
“Considering the news that came out of Hawaii this weekend, we are truly thankful that viewers everywhere were able to tune in and see what makes being in these islands such an amazing, life-fulfilling experience,” Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO George Szigeti said in a statement to the Star-Advertiser.
“Sunday was a stunningly beautiful day, the crowd on the course was more enthusiastic than in recent years and, with the six-hole playoff, Hawaii received more than 90 minutes of bonus TV coverage. It was a memorable day to be enjoying a fantastic finish at the Sony Open,” Szigeti said.
Meanwhile, the Golf Channel said, “We look forward to reaching a mutually agreeable contract.”
The HTA last week announced a $2.1 million extension of its marketing agreement with the PGA Tour that is to run through 2022.
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