Tiger Boosts WGC at Doral to Record-High TV Rating (With Asterisk)

Tiger Woods lifted the WGC-Cadillac Championship to a record rating last week, with a couple of caveats.

Final round coverage of the WGC-Cadillac Championship earned a 3.7 final rating and 5.5 million viewers on NBC Sunday afternoon, up 32% in ratings and 33% in viewership from last year (2.8, 4.1M), and up 61% and 66%, respectively, from 2011 (2.3, 3.3M).

The 3.7 rating is the highest ever for the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, but it is not an all-time record for the tournament. Third round coverage in 1999, aided by a college football lead-in, had a 4.0 rating.

In addition, the 3.7 is only a seven-year high for the annual event at Doral. The 2006 Ford Championship, the tournament at Doral before the WGC event moved there in 2007, earned a 4.6 final rating.

With that said, the 3.7 still ranks as the highest rating of the season for golf on any network. The previous high was a 3.2 for Sunday coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open, another tournament won by Woods.

Of the past 14 PGA-sanctioned tournaments won by Woods, each has had a double-digit increase in final round ratings. The last time final round ratings declined for a Woods victory was 2008, when his win at the Buick Invitational (now the Farmers Insurance Open) declined 21% from his victory at the tournament the previous year.

Moving to Saturday’s third round action, NBC earned a 2.3 and 3.4 million viewers — up 15% in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (2.0, 2.8M), and up 64% and 68%, respectively, from 2011 (1.4, 2.0M).

Final Round Ratings For Tournaments Won By Tiger Woods Since 2008

Compared to the year before
^ World Challenge not a PGA Tour event

(Weekend numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)