A changing of the guard in professional golf is in full swing and early returns show that the sport’s young guns are drawing viewers even as Tiger Woods fades from the spotlight, says Golf Channel president Mike McCarley.
“2015 is going to match the highest-rated year ever on Golf Channel, matching 2013, the year in which Tiger won five times,” McCarley told Reuters in an interview.
That was 20-year-old Golf Channel’s previous high-water mark in terms of television ratings and the last splash from Woods, who won five of 16 tournaments he played in 2013 and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for a remarkable 11th time.
Since then, back injuries have derailed the nearly 40-year-old Woods, but the rise of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler to join 26-year-old Rory McIlroy in golf’s elite has captured the attention of golf viewers.
“Looking back, 2015 may have been the changing of the guard,” said McCarley, whose channel is available to some 80 million households in the United States and whose programming reaches more than 80 countries worldwide in 12 languages.
The next era for golf is likely to contrast with the reign of Woods, who dominated the game and carried fan interest on his shoulders, and McCarley sensed that a new age of rivalries was looming.
“These are young players who are going to be around for 20 years and it will take some time for them to build their fan bases,” he said. “We’re on the very leading edge of this trip, but we’re seeing the momentum build significantly.”
Spieth got the 2015 major championship season off to a flying start with his decisive win at the Masters, and followed that with victory at the US Open two months later.
The Texan, who is now aged 22, made a run at winning a third in a row, finishing one shot out of a play-off at the Open Championship and then was runner-up to 28-year-old Day of Australia at the PGA Championship.
Fowler, 27, joined the party with a play-off victory at The Players Championship, while four-time major winner McIlroy will be back at full strength after being sidelined in midseason by an ankle injury sustained playing football.
“I think rivalries are great for the game,” the Golf Channel chief said. “Sports are driven by stars, but when you have stars who also have rivals and they are battling it out on a regular basis I think it can be really, really compelling.”
The 2015 first quarter ratings for Golf Channel were down 14 per cent compared to the year before, but momentum shifted with Spieth’s win at the Masters.
The second quarter showed a gain of 3 per cent over the year before and grew to an increase of 8 per cent in the next quarter before booming to a 13 per cent year-ago gain in the last period.
McCarley noted a competitive parallel in the women’s game with the rise of 18-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand as world No 1 and a natural rivalry with American Lexi Thompson, the 20-year-old world No 4.
“Looking ahead, 2016 is shaping up as a transformational year for the game of golf,” he said.
McCarley also pointed to golf’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 at next year’s Rio Games.
“You have to look at the Olympics as a real opportunity for the game of golf, a long-term opportunity,” said McCarley, whose channel will broadcast the men’s and women’s Olympic tournaments live in their entirety.
“I think the Olympics in Rio will start spreading a seed for the global growth of the game,” he said.
“Countries are developing junior golf programmes, grass roots programmes they would never have developed if not for golf being included in the Olympic programme.
“You’re going to start seeing kids in countries who never wanted to pick up a golf club and now they do.”
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
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