Solheim star on TV ratings: 'I don't know what the f--- we're doing so wrong' - Golfweek

It didn't take long for Mel Reid to come down from a Solheim Cup high. One look at the abysmal U.S. TV ratings was all it took for the European vice captain to feel heartbroken.

Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal was the first to share the startling numbers on X: 179,000 watched on Golf Channel Saturday and, despite an 8-8 score heading into singles, viewership dropped to 170,000 on Sunday, when Europe came out on top.

To put that in perspective, consider that three years ago, when the event was held in Spain, Sunday’s viewership numbers on Golf Channel were 277,000.

That’s a 39 percent drop in viewership.

Reid recently discussed the dip on her podcast, Quiet Please! with NBC and Golf Channel reporter Kira Dixon.

“I don't know what the f*** we're doing so wrong, Kira, to be quite honest with you, because that is literally one of the greatest sporting events that we get to witness all year, men or women, right? Especially women," said Reid, who was a vice captain for Anna Nordqvist.

"I mean, this is where I get frustrated because I do feel like the players are delivering the entertainment, the players are delivering everything that we're asking them for.”

Dixon noted that Ryder Cup content teams are making engaging content two years out, whereas Solheim Cup content doesn't get ramped up until the competition gets close. They also talked about the need for venues with name recognition.

Reid said the No. 1 thing LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler needs to focus on for the entire tour going forward is marketing. The former LPGA board member called the marketing budget "horrific."

“We need people to watch. The fact that that viewership was for the f***ing Solheim Cup is actually really heartbreaking to me. Like, it's really heartbreaking," said Reid.

"That's the best of LPGA. That's the best of women's golf."

Reid, who retired from the LPGA at the end of the 2024 season and began working in broadcasting, has played on four Solheim Cup teams and been a vice captain now three times, meaning she has seen the behind-the-scenes of the event, which is a sizable money maker for both the LPGA and LET. Profits go toward running both tours.

Reid called the Solheim Cup budget "literally nothing.""It's obviously compared to the men's. And I understand, like, the difference of the marketing and what they bring in is significantly different, and I'm very aware of that," said Reid."But even our budgets, like, our team stuff, and like what we can do with the team room, what we can do with the locker room, and their golf course, like, I mean, it's wild to me that it is such a significant change. And like, why is that? Why are we not closing in that gap for a product that is, in my opinion, sensation, like, the golf is sensational. ... I feel like we're going backwards again.”

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