Tiger Woods‘ effect on PGA Tour ratings is as potent as it has ever been.
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tampa Bay Championship delivered a 4.4 rating and 6.9 million viewers on NBC, up 193% in ratings and 201% in viewership from last year (1.5, 2.3M), up 120% and 134% respectively from 2016 (2.0, 2.9M), and easily the highest rated and most-watched round in tournament history (dates back to 2003).
Excluding all majors, it was the top PGA telecast since the 2013 Players Championship (5.0, 7.6M).
Sunday’s telecast was easily the highest rated and most-watched sporting event of the weekend, cruising past the second-place NASCAR race from Phoenix (2.8, 4.6M). It even took top honors in adults 18-49, no small feat given golf’s older skew. Its 1.3 rating in the demo beat every Sunday program except for AMC’s The Walking Dead (2.8) and ABC’s American Idol (2.3).
Third round coverage on Saturday had a 2.8 and 4.3 million, up 155% in ratings and 160% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.7M) and up 133% and 141% respectively from 2016 (1.2, 1.8M). It trails only Sunday’s telecast as the highest rated and most-watched round in tournament history.
Excluding The Masters, it was the highest rated third round at any golf tournament since the 2015 Wyndham Championship (2.9). Not coincidentally, that was the last time Woods entered the weekend in contention. It was the most-watched third round since the 2013 U.S. Open (5.4M).
Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 1.0 rating (+213%) and 1.4 million viewers (+205%) on Saturday and a 1.5 (+266%) and 2.4 million (+304%) on Sunday. Golf Channel also drew 797,000 for second round coverage last Friday (+106%).
PGA Tour ratings have been on the rise all season, boosted primarily by Woods’ resurgence. Nine of the 14 rounds on broadcast television this season have posted an increase in ratings and viewership, with eight of those increases by at least 30 percent.
It is worth noting that the Tampa Bay Championship is not one of the marquee PGA Tour stops. Prior to this year, the event’s high water marks were a 2.1 and 3.1 million in 2015. Woods had never played the tournament before this year.
Highest PGA Tour Ratings, Viewership, Past Five Years (Excluding Masters)
| Year | Game | Net | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
| 2013 | U.S. Open (Final Rd.) | NBC | 5.4 | 8.39M |
| 2014 | PGA Champ. (Final Rd.) | CBS | 5.3 | 8.24M |
| 2013 | Players Champ. (Final Rd.) | NBC | 5.0 | 7.60M |
| 2018 | Tampa Bay (Final Rd.) | NBC | 4.4 | 6.91M |
| 2015 | U.S. Open (Final Rd.) | FOX | 4.2 | 6.69M |
| 2015 | PGA Champ. (Final Rd.) | CBS | 4.4 | 6.68M |
| 2013 | PGA Champ. (Final Rd.) | CBS | 3.9 | 5.54M |
| 2013 | Doral (Final Rd.) | NBC | 3.7 | 5.49M |
| 2013 | U.S. Open (3rd Rd.) | NBC | 3.7 | 5.36M |
| 2016 | PGA Champ. (Final Rd.) | CBS | 3.4 | 5.29M |
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.13]
