Don’t have a press release and based on the numbers, I don’t expect one. From Sports Business Daily and tweeted by CNBC’s Darren Rovell, the overnight ratings for the final round of the PGA Championships are down 33%. Even though there was drama at the end and there was over an hour overrun, CBS still could not match the ratings of 2009 when Tiger Woods was in final round contention with Y.E. Yang.
We had as many six golfers in contention for the title at the end and a three hole playoff, yet without Tiger Woods, the ratings were still down. The moral of the story? Golf needs Tiger Woods to contend in 2011 otherwise golf on network TV is in trouble.