[Photo: Getty Images]
A fortnight of pure sporting theatre has propelled Australian golf and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia to new heights, with massive broadcast audiences and streaming records across the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Crown Australian Open.
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Millions of fans in Australia and around the globe were drawn in by the drama, storylines and world-class performances that defined this remarkable two weeks of the summer of golf which marks the mid-point of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the start of the global DP World Tour season.
From David Puig’s Sunday charge at Royal Queensland and Daniel Gale’s BMW winning hole-in-one, to Cameron Smith’s heart-stopping putt on the 72nd hole and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen’s 1-in-a-100 up and down to win the Stonehaven Cup at Royal Melbourne, fans were treated to non-stop action on two iconic Australian courses.
9 Network reaches more households than ever before
Across eight days of play on Channel 9 and 9Now, the 2025 tournaments reached over 4 million Australians with 2.8 million for the Australian Open (up 48 percent year-on-year) and a reach of 1.8 million for the Australian PGA Championships (up 21 percent year-on-year).
The Australian Open’s final round registered a Total TV Reach Audience of 1.4 million (up 17 percent year-on-year) on Channel 9, a Total TV National Average Audience of 267,000 (up 26 percent year-on-year) and a Broadcast Video On Demand Audience on 9Now of 31,000 (up 158 percent year-on-year).
Channel 9’s live and free coverage of the Australian PGA Championship recorded a reach of 1 million and a Total TV year-on-year increase of 20 percent (Linear and streaming on 9Now) for the final day of play, as Spain’s Puig was crowned champion.
Kayo Sports and Foxtel deliver all-time streaming highs
The Foxtel Group recorded its highest Australian golf audiences ever, with each tournament becoming the most watched in their history on Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now.
The Australian Open was the most viewed of all time across Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now with 206 million minutes viewed, up 31 percent year-on-year. The Australian PGA Championship was also the most viewed PGA Championship ever with 127 million minutes viewed, up 71 percent year-on-year.
Kayo Sports streaming of the 2025-2026 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season so far is up 47 percent compared to last season.
Global digital reach and engagement
Across both weeks, Australian golf was showcased on a global stage, with players, fans, and influencers flocking to social media to share what they were witnessing. Clips of the action spread rapidly across platforms, reinforcing Australia’s reputation as a premier golf destination
Impact across just the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and AusOpenGolf channels, included: 56.2m views on over 1,200 pieces of content by 36.9m people driving 886,000 engagements.
