The PGA Tour is still feeling the afterglow from last week’s Tiger Woods-inspired ratings success.
The final round of the Shell Houston Open drew a 2.7/6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, up 42% from a 1.9/4 last year, and the highest overnight for the event since ’05. This marks the second straight week that a PGA Tour event has seen a double-digit increase in overnight ratings — a good sign for CBS entering The Masters.
The 2.7 overnight was the second-highest of the weekend for a non-NCAA Tournament sporting event, behind only NASCAR on FOX and ahead of an NBA doubleheader on ABC.
Third round coverage drew a 1.5/4 on Saturday, up 15% from a 1.3 in ’08. Overall, NBC averaged a 2.1 overnight for its two-day coverage of the Shell Houston Open, up 31% from a 1.6 last year.
Overnight ratings for the Shell Houston Open since ’01.
* conclusion of final round ppd to Monday
| Date | Time | Net | Winner | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., 4/5/09 | 3:00 PM | NBC | Casey | 2.7/6 |
| Sun., 4/6/08 | 3:00 PM | NBC | Wagner | 1.9/4 |
| Sun., 4/1/07 | 3:00 PM | NBC | Scott | 1.9/4 |
| Sun., 4/23/06 | 3:00 PM | CBS | Appleby | 2.2/5 |
| Sun., 4/24/05 | 3:00 PM | CBS | Singh | 3.3/7 |
| Sun., 4/25/04 | 3:00 PM | CBS | Singh | 1.5/3* |
| Sun., 4/27/03 | 3:00 PM | CBS | Couples | 2.8/6 |
| Sun., 3/31/02 | 2:00 PM | ABC | Singh | 2.5/7 |
| Sun., 4/22/01 | 3:00 PM | CBS | Sutton | 3.0/7 |
