The 2024 US Open Golf Championship showcased significant sponsorship investments, with financial services giant American Express leading the pack at $10.75 million annually. Despite a slight dip in viewership from 2023, the event remained a major draw, offering a record $12.5 million prize pool. Long-term sponsor partnerships underscore the event’s enduring appeal and financial stability, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Post Event Analysis – US Open 2024 (Golf),” reveals that NBC and Peacock’s Sunday broadcast of the final round coverage of the 2024 US Open drew a total audience of 5.9 million viewers. The 2024 US Open offered the richest prize money payout in major championship history, totaling $12.5 million overall.
Olivia Snooks, Associate Sport Analyst at GlobalData comments: “The US Open has long-term partnerships with sponsors, including Rolex, American Express, and Lexus. American Express and Lexus have been sponsors since 2006, whilst Rolex has been a partner since 1980. These long-term partnerships show the commitment between the US Open, but more widely the United States Golf Association (USGA), and their sponsors.”
The final round of 2024 US Open was among the most watched editions of the competition in the last decade. NBC and Peacock’s Sunday broadcast of the final round coverage drew a 2.8 rating and produced a total audience of 2.9 million viewers across the seven-hour window, making it the most-watched East Coast final round since 2013. However, viewing figures were down slightly in the US, 6% in viewership and 11% in ratings, from the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Snooks Continues: “The 2024 US Open saw great success in tv ratings and viewership. Despite being down slightly from 2023, this can be largely attributed to the 2023 edition of the tournament, which was on the West Coast, overlapped into prime-time TV, therefore was able to bring in a slightly larger audience.”
The 2024 US Open offered the richest prize money payout in major championship history, totaling $12.5 million overall, with $4.3 million of this being awarded to the 2024 US Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau. The top four finishers all received at least $1 million, with runner-up Rory McIlroy receiving $2.3 million. In addition to the large amount of prize money, each of the 2024 US Open finishers and ties secured their spot in the 125th US Open at Oakmont, whilst the top four finishers and ties also earnt an invite to Masters in April 2025.
Snooks concludes: “The prize pool for the 2024 US Open was considerable, and as is the case with many of the major sports competitions, the prize pool is growing year on year. An extra motivation for the players is an invite to the Masters the following year, which is one of the biggest tournaments in golf.”
