Tiger Woods may have won the PGA Championship yesterday, his thirteenth major title, but the ratings were down.
Yesterday’s final round drew a 6.8 overnight rating, down 6% from a 7.2 last year. The 6.8 is also off 3% from the 7.0 overnight for the final round of the U.S. Open, where Woods was in contention to win. As The Sports Business Daily notes, while Woods’ presence is usually good for a major increase in ratings, “when he’s defending a title, it’s tough for a network to expect an uptick”.
While a 6.8 rating is still decent, it marks the third-lowest overnight ever for a Tiger Woods major victory. Only his victories in the 2005 and 2006 British Open drew smaller metered-market ratings. This was only the second Woods’ major victory to see a year-to-date decline.
Final round ratings for Tiger Woods’ major victories.
1997 Masters
15.8/32 overnight, up 65% from 1996 (22.3/40 in final half-hour)
14.1/31 final rating, up 53% from 1996
1999 PGA
7.7/18 overnight, up 26% from 1998
6.9/18 final rating, up 21% from 1998
2000 U.S. Open
8.8/21 overnight, up 11% from 1999
8.1/21 final rating, up 19% from 1999
2000 British Open
7.5/21 overnight, up 32% from 1999
6.4/21 final rating, up 33% from 1999
2000 PGA Championship
10.0/23 overnight, up 30% from 1999
8.8/21 final rating, up 28% from 1999
2001 Masters
12.6 overnight, up 25% from 2000
13.0/29 final rating, up 30% from 2000
2002 Masters
10.8/23 overnight, down 14% from 2001
9.2/22 final rating, down 29% from 2001
2005 Masters
10.3/21 overnight, up 41% from 2004
9.8/22 final rating, up 34% from 2004
2005 British Open
5.0/14 overnight, up 9% from 2004
4.6/14 final rating, up 7% from 2004
2006 British Open
5.0/14 overnight, even with 2005
4.6/14 final rating, even with 2005
2006 PGA Championship
7.2/16 overnight, up 22% from 2005
7.0/16 final rating, up 25% from 2005
2007 PGA Championship
6.8/15 overnight, down 6% from 2006
