The last tournament before Tiger Woods‘ return saw a big bump in the ratings.
The final round of last Sunday’s Northern Trust Open, won by Phil Mickelson, drew a 3.3/7 final rating on CBS last Sunday, up 32% from a 2.5/5 for last year’s final round, and tied as the highest rating for any PGA Tour event since Tiger Woods‘ injury last summer.
The 3.3 rating made the final round of the Northern Trust Open the second-highest rated sporting event of the weekend, behind only NASCAR on FOX (6.0), and ahead of the NBA on ABC (2.1).
Third round coverage on Saturday drew a 1.7/4 final rating, down 11% from a 1.9/5 in ’08. Overall, CBS averaged a 2.5 rating for its two-day coverage of the Northern Trust Open, up 14% from a 2.2 last year.
Highest rated golf events since Tiger Woods’ injury.
3.3: Northern Trust Open, Final Round (Sun., 2/22/09, 3 PM CBS)
3.3: British Open, Final Round (Sun., 7/20/08, 8 AM ABC)
2.9: Ryder Cup, Singles Matches (Sun., 9/21/08, 12:30 PM NBC)
2.8: PGA Championship, Final Round (Sun., 8/10/08, 2:30 PM CBS)
2.4: British Open, Third Round (Sat., 7/19/08, 9 AM ABC)
2.4: Ryder Cup, Foursomes/Fourball Matches (Sat., 9/20/08, 9:30 AM NBC)
