Tiger Woods’s First Win Since 2013 Fuels TV Ratings

(Bloomberg) -- Tiger is back, and TV executives couldn’t be happier.

The final round of the Tour Championship -- in which Tiger Woods won his first tournament in more than five years, capping one of the greatest comebacks in sports -- drew a 5.2 rating, according to NBC. That’s more than triple the audience from last year. Final numbers will be available later on Monday.

Since Woods returned to the game this year after his fourth back surgery, audiences have soared. CBS said in August that its broadcast of the PGA championship -- which Woods nearly won -- scored the highest rating for a final round since 2009.

Woods’s resurgence should help lift ratings for Comcast Corp.’s NBC and AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia, which are both televising major golf events this fall. NBC Sports and its sister network, the Golf Channel, will air the biennial Ryder Cup matches later this week, with Woods and the rest of the American team facing off against the top European players.

WarnerMedia also will air a rare head-to-head golf match between Woods and Phil Mickelson over Thanksgiving weekend. Woods’s comeback could generate interest in that showdown, but viewership could suffer if Mickelson plays poorly again. He finished in last place Sunday in the 30-player field -- 24 shots behind Woods.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Zachary Tracer

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