Memorial Tournament 2012 TV Coverage: Tiger Woods Is Must-See TV

The PGA couldn't have asked for a better start to the 2012 Memorial Tournament. Tiger Woods being in contention is nothing but good news when it comes to TV ratings.

Even though Tiger Woods' days of dominating golf are—at this point—a distant memory, he still remains the biggest name in the sport. Woods and his storyline have been embedded into the American sports and pop culture psyche; he has been well played in every conceivable media outlet.

While Woods has made the headlines over the past few years in some very negative ways, the PGA is simply more intriguing when Tiger is involved in any respect. With Tiger lurking in the top five of the Memorial Tournament, it is a virtual certainty that the ratings will reflect and succumb to the Tiger effect.

If you don't believe that Tiger can still dramatically effect the TV ratings, look no further than Woods' win at Bay Hill in March of this year. Woods simply being a contender in his win caused the ratings for the Arnold Palmer invitational to jump 129% during the 2011 installment of the tournament.

For better or worse, people can't get enough of Tiger Woods.

Heading into the third round, Woods was second on the leaderboard and at the publication of this article, Woods was holding strong on his pace. As long as he is able to end his third round with the lead or within striking distance of the lead, people will be sure to tune in on Sunday.

While Woods may no longer dominate golf, America hasn't lost interest in whether or not Tiger can become the Tiger of old. Watching Woods try to close out the Memorial on Sunday will be must-watch TV and very well could deliver on the nostalgia that fans would love to see.