On Selection Sunday, America was less enthralled by potential Davids than they were by sports’ ultimate Goliath.
The final round of the WGC-CA Championship, featuring Tiger Woods‘ first event on broadcast since last year’s U.S. Open, drew a strong 3.6/8 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon — up 9% from last year, and the second-highest overnight of the weekend for a sports related program.
The 3.6 overnight is the best for the WGC-CA Championship since it moved to its current date in 2007 — though not by much. Final round coverage of the event drew a 3.3 in ’08 and a 3.4 in ’07.
While Woods presence was likely the cause for the — albeit small — boost in ratings, the numbers were no doubt also helped by the presence of golf’s ‘other’ star, Phil Mickelson, who won the event. Mickelson also won last month’s Northern Trust Open, which drew a 3.5 overnight rating — previously the highest of the season.
The 3.6 overnight helped the WGC-CA Championship finish comfortably ahead of the weekend’s highest rated college basketball game (Ohio State/Purdue, 2.6 overnight) and the NBA on ABC (Mavericks/Lakers, 2.3 overnight). Final round coverage did finish behind the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on CBS (4.8 overnight).
