The outcome was never truly in doubt, but a Tiger Woods charge up the leaderboard still helped Players Championship ratings hit a five-year high in the metered markets.
Sunday’s final round of The Players Championship had a 4.2 overnight rating on NBC, up 62% from last year (2.6), up 35% from 2016 (3.1) and the highest since 2013, when Woods won the tournament (5.7).
Going back further, the 4.2 is tied as the second-highest for Sunday coverage of the tournament since 2002 (5.3).
For the season, the 4.2 is the second-highest PGA Tour overnight outside of the Masters. Final round coverage at Tampa Bay, in which Woods had a birdie putt to force a playoff, had a 5.1.
Woods entered Sunday in the top ten, but had little chance of winning as Webb Simpson had the tournament wrapped up entering the final round. Even so, Tiger’s rise up the leaderboard — reaching second place at one point — was the major story of the day. He ended up tied for 11th.
Head-to-head, Sunday’s telecast was outdrawn by Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on ABC (5.4). Golf peaked at a 5.6 overnight from 6-6:15 PM ET, compared to a peak of 6.5 for the NBA (5:30-5:45).
Saturday’s third round coverage had a 2.6 overnight, up 24% from last year (2.1), up 13% from 2016 (2.3) and also the highest since 2013 (3.0).
Excluding the Masters, the 2.6 is the second-highest for Saturday PGA Tour coverage this season. The third round at Tampa Bay, in which Woods briefly led, had a 3.3 overnight.
[Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports]
