Perhaps the greatest victory of Tiger Woods‘ career delivered an impressive overnight rating, considering the circumstances.
Sunday’s final round of the Masters, which was moved up several hours to avoid inclement weather, earned an 7.7 overnight rating on CBS — down 11% from last year (8.7), but up a tick from 2017 (7.6). CBS began coverage at 9 AM ET, compared to a 2 PM start in previous years.
The 7.7 is the highest on record for a morning golf telecast (dating back to 1986).
Woods’ dramatic victory — his first at the Masters since 2005, his first at any major since 2008, and only his second at any tournament since 2013 — peaked at a 12.1 from 2:15-2:30 PM ET. That is the highest peak rating for the event since 2013 (13.4 from 7-7:30 PM).
Last year’s final round peaked at an 11.0 from 6:45-7 PM and the 2017 telecast peaked at an 11.2 from 7-7:30 PM.
As one would expect given the morning start, the 7.7 overnight is the second-lowest for the final round of the Masters since 2004 (7.3) — and the third-lowest since 1993 (6.8).
Keep in mind that ratings are the percentage of homes watching a program out of the total number of television homes. Those numbers will be inevitably lower when fewer homes are watching television (as is the case during the morning).
Using the share, which is the percentage of homes watching out of the number of televisions in use, Sunday’s telecast fared much better. It had a 21 share, up 17% from last year (18) and tied with 2013 as the highest for the Masters since 2011.
An encore presentation of the final round delivered a 3.4 overnight from 3-7 PM ET. Combined, the live and encore telecasts grossed an 11.1 overnight. That would be the highest for the Masters since 2010, which marked Woods’ return to golf following his marital infidelity scandal (12.0).
When Woods previously won the Masters in 2005, the final round had a 10.3 overnight.
Masters overnight ratings, past decade
| YEAR | WINNER | WOODS | OVR | SHR | PEAK |
| 2019 | Woods | Won | 7.7 | 21 | 12.1 |
| 2018 | Reed | T32 | 8.7 | 18 | 11.0 |
| 2017 | Garcia | DNP | 7.6 | 17 | 11.2 |
| 2016 | Willett | DNP | 8.5 | 17 | 10.3 |
| 2015 | Spieth | T17 | 9.6 | 20 | 11.5 |
| 2014 | Watson | DNP | 7.8 | 17 | 9.7 |
| 2013 | Scott | T4 | 10.2 | 21 | 13.4 |
| 2012 | Watson | T40 | 8.1 | 19 | n.a. |
| 2011 | Schwartzel | T4 | 10.4 | 22 | 12.6 |
| 2010 | Mickelson | T4 | 12.0 | 25 | 14.7 |
[Numbers from CBS Sports]
