Interest in Ryder Cup has surged to huge levels

The number of people interested in the Ryder Cup has surged by more than six million people over just the last four years.

According to data revealed by Nielsen Sports, the number of fans has leaped by more than an astonishing 6.7 million people.

Of that surge, 1.1 million additional fans come from Europe, with a further 5.6 million from the USA.

Interest in the Ryder Cup, the biennial international golf event battled out between US and European teams, naturally peaks and falls either side of the event. The number of Ryder Cup fans peaked ahead of the 2016 event in Hazeltine, USA, and whilst those numbers have cooled slightly since the last competition, it is once again on the rise.

With the both continents alternating the hosting of the Ryder Cup each time, interestingly there is a difference in the way fan interest shifts. Where numbers naturally decline following a USA event, they peak following a European event. It is this that provides an indication which suggests this year’s event in France, which tees off next week, could see fans numbers climb further, something organisers, brands and broadcasters will be looking to capitalise on.

“During the last Ryder Cup on European soil in 2014, there was an uplift of an additional 6.4 million fans in the months following the event”, said Marco Nazzari from Nielsen Sports.

“Although those numbers return to their pre-event levels within 12 months, it will be interesting to see what impact this, only the second Ryder Cup to be hosted in continental Europe, will have on fans sizes. For brands and broadcasters looking to capitalise on this surge of new fans, understanding who these fans are, their propensity to purchase from sponsoring and the way fans consume content will all be vital considerations they will need to make.”

Ahead of the 2018 competition, the UK is the market with the biggest proportion of Ryder Cup fans. Twenty per cent of people in the UK claim to be interested or very interested in the Ryder Cup, a number which could increase following the 2018 event. The USA ranks second in terms of percentage of the population who are fans (15), followed by Spain (12), hosts France (6), Germany (6) and Italy (6).