PGA Tour ratings are hit or miss when Tiger Woods is not in the field, but still mostly up.
Last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Greenbrier Classic earned a 1.7 rating and 2.6 million viewers on CBS, up 13% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (1.5, 2.2M). The 2016 tournament was canceled due to flooding.
Kevin Na‘s win was the highest rated and most-watched round of the tournament since 2015 (2.0, 2.98M).
Of the 50 PGA Tour windows on broadcast television this season — 48 on weekends plus the first two rounds of the U.S. Open — Sunday’s final round was the 35th to post an increase in ratings and the 37th to do so in viewership. That includes 20 telecasts featuring Tiger Woods, all-but-one of which have increased.
Excluding the 20 windows featuring Woods, the numbers have been more modest. Little more than half of the 30 windows — 16 — have posted an increase in ratings and 18 have done so in viewership.
Third round action last Saturday had a 1.0 rating and 1.5 million, down 17% in both measures from last year (1.2, 1.75M) and the tournament’s smallest third round audience since 2014 (1.3M).
Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.41 (+11%) and 591,000 (+13%) on Saturday and a 0.55 (+22%) and 847,000 (+24%) on Sunday.
[Numbers from ShowBuzz Daily 7.11]
