Evidently, Tiger Woods‘ real life drama is not as big of a television attraction as his on-course exploits.
Final round coverage of The Memorial — Woods’ fourth tournament since his personal life became a news story — drew a 2.8 final rating on CBS last Sunday, down 13% from last year, when he won the event (3.2).
Despite the decline from last year, Sunday’s final round was up 75% from 2008 (1.6), up 22% from 2007 (2.3), and up 40% from 2006 (2.0).
Still, the numbers are not particularly strong by historical standards. Excluding rain delayed telecasts, the 2.8 rating is the fifth-lowest for the final round of The Memorial since at least 1997.
Despite being affected by rain, Saturday’s third round action drew a 1.6 final rating, up 7% from last year (1.6) and up 33% from 2008 (1.2).
The 1.6 is tied as the third-lowest for the third round of the event since at least ’97.
Ratings For Third/Final Round Coverage of The Memorial Since 1997
Asterisk (*) indicates telecast was affected by rain.
| Year | Dates | Winner | Net | Sat. | Sun. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6/5, 6/6 | Rose | CBS |
1.6*
|
2.8
|
| 2009 | 6/6, 6/7 | Woods | CBS |
1.5
|
3.2
|
| 2008 | 5/31, 6/1 | Perry | CBS |
1.2
|
1.6
|
| 2007 | 6/2, 6/3 | Choi | CBS |
1.6
|
2.3
|
| 2006 | 6/3, 6/4 | Pettersson | CBS |
1.9
|
2.0
|
| 2005 | 6/4, 6/5 | Bryant | CBS |
2.5
|
3.3
|
| 2004 | 6/5, 6/6 | Els | CBS |
2.8
|
3.6
|
| 2003 | 5/31, 6/1 | Perry | CBS |
2.7
|
3.1
|
| 2002 | 5/25, 5/26 | Furyk | CBS |
2.6
|
2.5
|
| 2001 | 6/2, 6/3 | Woods | CBS |
3.1
|
5.0
|
| 2000 | 5/27, 5/28 | Woods | CBS |
2.7
|
1.4*
|
| 1999 | 6/5, 6/6 | Woods | CBS |
2.6
|
3.8
|
| 1998 | 5/30, 5/31 | Couples | ABC |
2.6
|
3.0
|
| 1997 | 5/31, 6/1 | Singh | ABC |
2.0
|
2.9*
|
