Tiger Woods‘ best finish at a major since 2009 delivered in the metered markets.
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship earned a 6.1 overnight rating on CBS, up 69% from last year (3.6), up 56% from 2016 (3.9) and the highest since 2009 (7.5). The previous mark was a 6.0 for the 2014 final round.
The 6.1 is tied as the highest golf overnight outside of the Masters since the final round of the 2012 U.S. Open (6.6).
Woods’ second-place finish — his first at a major since the above-mentioned 2009 PGA Championship — peaked at an 8.3 from 7-7:15 PM ET as Brooks Kopeka wrapped up the victory.
Woods has finished first or second at the PGA Championship seven times, with this year the lowest rated of the seven. Seven of the nine highest PGA Championship overnights since at least 1996 have come in years when Woods either won or was runner-up.
The PGA Championship was the fifth golf telecast in 2018 with at least a 5.0 overnight rating, compared to just one last year. The list includes the third and final rounds of the Masters (5.7 and 8.7) and Woods’ near misses at Tampa Bay (5.1) and the British Open (5.0).
Of the 11 highest rated PGA rounds this season, eight have featured Woods in contention — the third and final rounds of the PGA, British Open and Tampa Bay and the final rounds at the Players Championship and Bay Hill.
Host market St. Louis led all markets Sunday with an 11.5 rating, followed close behind by Ft. Myers, Fla. (11.2). Kansas City (10.4), Tampa-St. Petersburg (9.8), West Palm Beach, Fla. and Dayton, Ohio (9.5 in both) rounded out the top five.
Highest PGA Championship Ratings, Metered Markets
[Numbers from CBS Sports PR 8.13]
