Last week, I did a piece on the ratings for golf without Tiger Woods. Add another tournament to the file.
It seems Martin Kaymer winning the Players Sunday didn’t do it for you like Woods winning the title in 2013.
According to Sports Media Watch, the ratings were the equivalent of shooting 63-75 in consecutive rounds.
Overnight ratings for The Players Championship unsurprisingly plunged with Tiger Woods absent.
Final round coverage of The Players Championship earned a 2.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, down 54% from Woods’ victory last year (5.7) and down 24% from 2012 (3.4). The 2.6 overnight tied as the lowest for Sunday coverage of the event since at least the past fifteen years, matching 2005 coverage that featured the second and third rounds.
OK, it didn’t help matters that there was a 90-minute delay near the conclusion with Kaymer holding a big lead. Most viewers tuned out when coverage resumed, missing the drama of a stumbling Kaymer holding on for the victory.
It also didn’t help that Jordan Spieth failed to put anything together in the final round, just like he did at the Masters. The ratings are higher if the 20-year-old makes a run.
However, the bottom line: There is a decided lack of buzz in these tournaments without Woods. Get well soon, Tiger!
I won’t watch when Tiger is not playing. Whether he is winning or not the game of golf is much more exciting when Tiger is playing. Get well soon TIGER, we miss you.
I believe the Players would have improved ratings if moved to a week other than Mother’s Day weekend. Many golf fans are unable to tune in for the final round due to Mother’s Day activities. I understand that the PGA moved the tournament from March to May for reasons including course conditions, major tournament balance (1 major per month April through August), and competition from March Madness; however, an early March date would avoid the NCAA tournament, maintain the 1 major per month schedule, and get more eyeballs from frustrated northern golf fans still trapped in winter.