Continuing a tournament-long trend, the final round of the US Open scored a substantial increase in the overnight ratings.
Sunday’s final round of the US Open earned a 5.2 overnight rating on FOX, up 44% from last year (3.6), up 49% from 2017 (3.5), and the highest for the tournament since 2013 on NBC (6.1).
Compared to the previous West Coast US Open — Chambers Bay in 2015 — overnights increased 9% from a 4.8. Compared to the previous US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, overnights fell 25% from a 6.9.
Gary Woodland‘s win, which peaked at a 6.9 from 9-9:15 PM ET, delivered the third-highest golf overnight this season. The third and final rounds of the Masters hold the top two spots, with a 6.0 and 7.7 respectively.
Outside of the Masters, the 5.2 is the second-highest for any PGA Tour telecast since 2014. It trails the final round of last year’s PGA Championship (6.1).
The final round was aided by a primetime finish, and also by a strong lead-in from the United States-Chile FIFA Women’s World Cup match (4.1).
It was also aided by the presence of Tiger Woods, who posted a final round 69, his best at the US Open in ten years. It is no coincidence that this year’s final round posted the highest overnight since 2013, which prior to this year was the last time Woods made the cut at the event.
[Numbers from Fox Sports]
