CBS' Overnight For Final Round At Masters Down 11% From Last Year, But Still Above '14

CBS drew an 8.5 overnight rating yesterday for its final-round coverage of The Masters, which saw Danny Willett win his first Green Jacket by three strokes after Jordan Spieth collapsed during the back nine. That figure is down 11% from Spieth's four-stroke win over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose last year. Rory McIlroy also finished fourth last year, and Tiger Woods entered the final round in '15 still in contention before fading. Woods did not play this year. While down from '15, this year's final round is up 9% from Bubba Watson's three stroke win in '14 over Spieth and Jonas Blixt. Woods also did not play in '14, while McIlroy finished tied for eighth and Mickelson missed the cut. Yesterday's coverage on CBS peaked at a 10.3 rating from 6:30-7:00pm ET at the end of the tourney. Minneapolis-St. Paul led all markets for Sunday's coverage with a 14.0 local rating. Rounding out the top five markets were Ft. Myers-Naples (13.5), West Palm Beach (12.6), Greensville-Spartanburg (11.7) and Cincinnati (11.5). Meanwhile, third-round coverage on Saturday drew a 5.7 overnight, down from a 6.5 rating last year, but up from a 4.4 in '14 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

CHART NOTES: * = Ended in playoff. ^ = Aired on Easter Sunday.

QUALITY COVERAGE: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote CBS had an "excellent sequence covering Jordan Spieth's quadruple bogey on the 12th hole." While it was "painful and mesmerizing to watch," CBS was "quick to show a highlight of Spieth having trouble on the same hole" in '14. CBS also had a "great slow-motion replay showing how far Spieth hit his third shot, which landed in the water." The net "ended its sequence by showing Danny Willett​ making a par to take the lead" (SI.com, 4/10). 

THE JORDAN RULES: GOLFWEEK's Martin Kaufman wrote CBS often "lingered excessively" on Spieth, to the "exclusion of the vast majority of the field." There were many players who finished in the top 10, including J.B. Holmes, Justin Rose and Brandt Snedeker, who "got little or no airtime" and were "all but frozen out by CBS." The net instead "followed Spieth as he walked around the course and agonized over every shot." Rather than covering the tournament and showing as much golf and as many golfers as possible, CBS "put all of its chips on Spieth." Kaufman: "That was the story that CBS wanted to tell: the popular young American star marching to his second consecutive Masters title. But then Spieth faltered, and Willett swooped in, seized the green jacket and spoiled the CBS narrative" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/10). Yahoo Sports Radio's Steve Czaban yesterday wrote on Twitter, “Great. Here we go again, CBS showing minutes of NON-action of Spieth lining up putt. 7 other players in the hunt, actually golfing. ARGH!” ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi: “Whatever happened to ... Bernhard Langer? My lord CBS I'm worried the man disappeared.” ESPN Radio producer John Hayes on Saturday wrote, “40 minutes into coverage on CBS & not a mention of or shot from Dustin Johnson. He's E & 5 back.”

TOUGH TALK: GOLF WORLD's John Strege wrote Spieth throughout the weekend was "subjected to pointed criticism, both for his pace of play and his swing, and how the two aren't necessarily unrelated." When Spieth's group was put on the clock Friday, analyst Nick Faldo said during ESPN's broadcast, "He doesn't like to be rushed, does he?" Faldo added during CBS' final-round telecast, "He backs off more than anybody. If anything is slightly wrong, if his grip feels different or the line or the gust, he certainly pushes it to the limit taking his time." Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee yesterday on-air said, "His golf swing looked just a little bit shorter than it normally does and a little but quicker (which) tends to give you a right miss, and it plagued him all week long and ultimately cost him his third major championship" (GOLF WORLD, 4/11 issue)

ROUGH DEBUT: GOLFWEEK's Kaufman noted it was a "rocky Masters debut" for CBS' Dottie Pepper, as she was "painfully tentative." Even basic phrases "came out choppy, as if she were thinking about each word." Pepper is a "terrific on-course reporter, a role in which she spontaneously reacts to what is happening in front of her." However, in a tower at Augusta, she is "watching on monitors, calling play-by-play on tape, and probably sifting through notes on various groups that come through the holes for which she is responsible." Kaufman noted there is "less opportunity to interact with other announcers" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/10).