Below are network television’s highest- and lowest-rated final rounds of the 37 PGA tournaments that have aired this year. Tiger Woods was the winner or runner-up in seven of the 10 top-rated events. Woods won a playoff in the Masters. He did not play in the AT&T Pebble Beach event.
Top-rated final rounds |
| Rank (2004 rank) | Event | Woods’ finish 2005/2004 | Network | 2005 rating |
| 1 (1) | The Masters Tournament | 1/T22 | CBS | 9.8 |
| 2 (2) | U.S. Open | 2/T17 | NBC | 5.6 |
| 3 (4) | PGA Championship* | T4/T24 | CBS | 5.6 |
| 4 (19) | Ford Championship at Doral | 1/DNP | NBC | 5.5 |
| 5 (17) | WGC-NEC Invitational | 1/T2 | CBS | 5.0 |
| 6 (6) | British Open | 1/T9 | ABC | 4.6 |
| 7 (15) | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | DNP/DNP | CBS | 4.0 |
| 8 (21) | Cialis Western Open | 2/T7 | ABC | 3.9 |
| 9 (12) | Wachovia Championship | T11/T3 | CBS | 3.7 |
| 10 (7) | Buick Open | T2/T3 | CBS | 3.6 |
On the other hand, Woods skipped eight of the 10 least-watched network broadcasts. Ratings plunged in the two tournaments he did play in, as he finished 17th in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and 40th in the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Lowest-rated final rounds |
| Rank (2004 rank) | Event | Woods’ finish 2005/2004 | Network | 2005 rating |
| 28 (3) | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | T17/1 | ABC | 2.0 |
| 29 (33) | Booz Allen Classic | DNP/DNP | ABC | 2.0 |
| 30 (31) | The International | DNP/DNP | CBS | 1.9 |
| 31 (29) | U.S. Bank Championship | DNP/DNP | CBS | 1.8 |
| 32 (11) | Deutsche Bank Championship | T40/T2 | ABC | 1.7 |
| 33 (32) | FedEx St. Jude Classic | DNP/DNP | CBS | 1.6 |
| 34 (30) | John Deere Classic | DNP/DNP | ABC | 1.5 |
| 35 (20) | Barclays Classic | DNP/DNP | ABC | 1.3 |
| 36 (36) | Michelin Championship at Las Vegas | DNP/DNP | NBC | 1.3 |
| 37 (37) | Chrysler Classic of Greensboro | DNP/DNP | ABC | 1.0 |
Ratings increased for 10 of the 12 events in which Woods had a better finish this year than in 2004. Woods won a playoff in the WGC-American Express Championship, and ratings more than doubled from last year.
| Rank | Event | Woods’ finish 2005/2004 | Network | 2005
rating
| Change |
| 1 | WGC-American Express Championship | 1/9 | ABC | 2.8 | 115.4% |
| 2 | WGC-NEC Invitational | 1/T2 | CBS | 5.0 | 72.4% |
| 3 | Mercedes Championships | T3/T4 | ESPN | 2.2 | 69.2% |
| 4 | Cialis Western Open | 2/T7 | ABC | 3.9 | 50.0% |
| 5 | The Masters Tournament | 1/T22 | CBS | 9.8 | 34.2% |
| 6 | PGA Championship* | T4/T24 | CBS | 5.6 | 27.3% |
| 7 | Bay Hill Invitational | T23/T46 | NBC | 2.8 | 12.0% |
| 8 | Buick Championship | T2/DNP | CBS | 2.2 | 10.0% |
| 9 | British Open | 1/T9 | ABC | 4.6 | 7.0% |
| 10 | U.S. Open | 2/T17 | NBC | 5.6 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Buick Open | T2/T3 | CBS | 3.6 | -7.7% |
| 12 | Buick Invitational | 1/T10 | ABC | 2.3 | -47.7% |
The ratings dropped in all but one of the seven tournaments where Woods’ final position had dropped from his 2004 finish. Ratings for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship plunged more than a third after Woods missed a PGA cut for the first time in an unprecedented seven years. Only the second-year Wachovia Championship saw a ratings increase, earning a 3.7 on CBS, up from a 3.6 last year.
| Rank | Event | Woods’ finish
2005/2004 | Network | 2005 rating | change |
| 13 | Wachovia Championship | T11/T3 | CBS | 3.7 | 2.8% |
| 14 | The Memorial Tournament | T3/3 | CBS | 3.3 | -8.3% |
| 15 | The Players Championship** | T53/T16 | NBC | 2.2 | -22.2% |
| 16 | Nissan Open*** | T13/T7 | ABC | 2.9 | -25.6% |
| 17 | EDS Byron Nelson Championship | CUT/T4 | CBS | 2.5 | -34.2% |
| 18 | Deutsche Bank Championship | T40/T2 | ABC | 1.7 | -54.1% |
| 19 | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | T17/1 | ABC | 2 | -58.3% |
DNP: Did not play
* Final-round play ended early due to weather and concluded the following Monday from 10-11:15 on CBS, earning a 3.3/12 final Nielsen rating.
** Inclement weather pushed the final round to Monday. NBC earned a 2.8 rating.
*** Sunday’s coverage included third and final rounds due to inclement weather earlier in the tournament.
Sources: Nielsen Media Research; David Broughton, SportsBusiness Journal; Katherine Johnson-Reid, Sports Business Daily
