A contending Tiger Woods is always a boon for PGA Tour ratings, with Saturday’s third round at Tampa Bay hitting multiple highs in the overnights.
Third round coverage of the PGA Tampa Bay Championship earned a 3.3 overnight rating on NBC, up 175% from last year (1.2), up 136% from 2016 (1.4) and the highest overnight in the history of the tournament — including final rounds (dates back to 2003).
The previous high was a 2.4 for final round coverage in 2015.
The 3.3 is the highest PGA overnight of the season, including final rounds. The previous mark was a 2.9 for the final rounds at Torrey Pines, the Honda Classic and the WGC-Mexico Championship.
Excluding majors and the Ryder Cup, the 3.3 is the highest for any golf telecast since the final round at Pebble Beach two years ago (3.4). It is also the highest third round overnight in 12 years — since the 2006 Bridgestone Invitational (3.6).
Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 1.1 overnight, the network’s highest overnight since the 2013 Boston Championship. The network pulled a 0.6 overnight for Friday’s second round action, up 103% from last year.
As previously noted, first round coverage on Thursday had a 0.6 rating and 864,000 viewers (+207%).
Woods entered Sunday’s final round in a tie for second and led on both Friday and Saturday. He has not won a PGA Tour event since 2013.
[Numbers from NBC Sports]
