Shooting Par: PGA Tour Ratings Flat Heading Into U.S. Open

PGA Tour weekend telecasts (excluding last weekend's St. Jude Classic and The Masters) are averaging a 2.0 rating (2.885 million viewers) on CBS and NBC through 35 Saturday/Sunday telecasts, flat with last year leading into the U.S. Open (36 telecasts, which also excludes the St. Jude Classic and The Masters). Saturday rounds have averaged a 1.5 rating (2.109 million viewers) for 18 telecasts, which is slightly down from a 1.6 last year, but Sunday rounds have averaged a 2.5 rating (3.626 million viewers) for 17 telecasts, which is up from a 2.4 rating for 18 Sunday telecasts last year. The chart below lists weekend PGA Tour telecast averages for CBS and NBC, with comparisons to the same period in '08 (THE DAILY).

TIGER EFFECT: Tiger Woods' return to weekend golf clearly had an influence on individual tournaments. Woods has played on Sunday five times, excluding The Masters, and each time the round has seen a double-digit increase. Conversely, for Woods' first tournament of '09, the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, he failed to make it to the weekend, and the final round was off 36.7%. Additionally, Woods played last year in the Buick Invitational, winning the event. Without Tiger playing during the weekend this year, final round coverage was off 52.4%.

NOTES: Ratings for The Masters not included due to CBS' rights deal with PGA Tour being separate from its deal with The Masters; ratings for the St. Jude Classic were not available by presstime.

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