Despite a decade without a major, five years without a title of any kind, and off-field drama that seemingly tarnished his image, Tiger Woods still moves PGA ratings like no one else.
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tampa Bay Championship earned a 5.1 overnight rating on NBC, up 183% from last year (1.8), up 122% from 2016 (2.3), and the highest overnight in the history of the event. The previous high was a 3.3 set the previous day.
Paul Casey‘s win — in which Woods finished in a tie for second and missed a birdie putt that would have forced a playoff — delivered the highest non-major PGA overnight since the 2013 Players Championship (5.7). Not coincidentally, that was a Woods victory.
The 5.1 beat every PGA Championship telecast since 2014 (6.0), every U.S. Open telecast since 2013 (6.1), and every British Open telecast since 2000 (7.5).
Overnights peaked at a 6.6 from 5:30-6 PM ET.
No other sporting event came close to the PGA Tour on Selection Sunday. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show had a mere 1.6 overnight on TBS. NASCAR was a distant second to the PGA with a 2.7, followed by ABC’s NBA coverage at a 1.8.
Golf Channel’s lead-in coverage had a 1.65 overnight, the highest in at least a decade.
[Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports, Sports Business Daily 3.12a, 3.12b]
