ABC Sports' final round coverage of Tiger Woods'
overwhelming win at the British Open on Sunday earned a
7.5/21 overnight Nielsen rating, up 32% from last year's
final round, which earned a 5.7/14. A two-day comparison to
last year was unavailable, as last year's Saturday coverage
was pre-empted for coverage of the plane crash involving JFK
Jr. Meanwhile, NBC's final round coverage of the U.S.
Women's Open earned a 1.9/5, down 5% from last year's 2.0/5
overnight. The event's two-day average of a 1.9/5 is even
with last year's two-day overnight (THE DAILY).
CRITICS CORNER: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes,
"Although ABC's golf coverage clearly has improved under new
production head John Filippelli, it's still not on the same
championship course as NBC's or CBS'" (USA TODAY, 7/24). In
Toronto, Chris Zelkovich: "There's nothing more boring than
watching one guy run away with tournaments. ABC certainly
didn't know what to do" (TORONTO STAR, 7/24). In Detroit,
Chengelis & Goricki note that ABC "twice left its Michigan
500 coverage to show highlights" of the British Open trophy
presentation (DETROIT NEWS, 7/24). But in Pittsburgh, Chuck
Finder writes, "If ABC can be assessed a majors penalty this
day, it was for hurriedly interviewing [Woods] about his
slice of history before returning to your regularly
scheduled open-wheel race in Michigan. Come on, putting the
CART before the Tiger?" But Finder adds, "For the most part
... ABC offered sufficient must-see-Tiger TV" (PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE, 7/24). In Orlando, Jerry Greene noted ESPN's
decision on Friday to delay its coverage of the U.S. Women's
Open until Woods completed his second round at the British
Open: "How sad for the LPGA" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/22).
BBC IN TALKS? The London MIRROR reported that the BBC
is "in danger of losing" TV rights to the British Open, as
Channel 4 is "ready to make" a $75.9M bid for a five-year
deal for the event's rights. The British Open contract is
up for renewal after next year (London MIRROR, 7/23).
TIGER VS. KARRIE: After following up his overwhelming
win at the U.S. Open with a dominant performance at St.
Andrews, NEWSDAY's Jeff Williams writes that Woods "has
become the ultimate wonder drug for golf, curing all ills."
Golfer Paul Azinger: "He has brought golf from the fifth
page of the sports section to the front page of the sports
section to the front page of the newspaper" (NEWSDAY, 7/24).
In Rochester, Bob Matthews: "Considering the microscope he
is under, Woods has done a masterful job of being a class
act. The unprecedented success hasn't gone to his head yet
and we're hoping it never does" (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT &
CHRONICLE, 7/24). In DC, Thomas Boswell writes that "some
around golf now worry that Woods' dominance will 'kill the
sport.' That's ridiculous. His excellence has given the
game new wings. ... Woods' supremacy will only help golf's
popularity" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/24).
SPONSORS SUPPORT WOODS: Buick, TLC and AmEx all run
full-page ads in USA TODAY congratulating Woods on his
British Open win, while AmEx also runs its congratulatory ad
in the WALL STREET JOURNAL (THE DAILY). IMG's Alastair
Johnson notes that Woods' success will only increase the
amount of money he makes in off-the-course endorsements: "I
have a view, somewhat speculative but not entirely
inaccurate, that Michael Jordan didn't make as much money as
people think he did. But I do know, for sure, what Tiger
Woods makes to the last penny. If he hasn't passed Jordan
by now, he's about to very soon" (EVENING STANDARD, 7/24).
WHERE ARE KARRIE'S SPONSORS? U.S. Women's Open champion
Karrie Webb, on the competition for viewers between the
women's event and the British Open: "My ultimate goal was to
win the U.S. Open this week. I can't help the fact that
Tiger then goes out and wins the British Open. Most people
watched two great tournaments" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/24).
ESPN's Pam Ward examined the scheduling of the U.S. Women's
Open against the British Open, an "overt act of sabotage" by
the LPGA to schedule the women's event against the men's
oldest tournament. Ward: "No matter who wins the U.S.
Women's Open, good luck trying to find the write-up in
tomorrow's paper" ("SportsWeekly," 7/23). In Chicago, Skip
Bayless compared Webb to Woods and wrote that Webb is "not
Tiger Woods in one transcendent category. Write-ability for
the media. Charisma. Captivation. 'It.' Webb certainly
isn't what we call a 'bad talker,' as in boring or guarded
or poorly spoken. But she isn't a 'great talker' either"
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/23). In Raleigh, Chip Alexander noted
Webb wears Oakleys similar to those worn by golfer David
Duval: "The rap on both is that they are short on
personality, so painfully introspective that they use those
Oakley shades to keep the public at bay" (N&O, 7/23).
BIG ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: A British Open-record 230,000
fans attended the British Open, with 47,000 attending
Sunday's Final round. The previous British Open record, set
in '99, was 208,680 (AP, 7/24)....Meanwhile, 25,049 attended
Sunday's final round of the U.S. Women's Open, pushing the
event's total attendance to 101,568 (DAILY SOUTHTOWN, 7/24).
