PGA Tour: Norman, Harrington, and Kim Not Enough to Lift British Open Ratings

Despite 53 year old Greg Norman leading the British Open heading into the back-nine on Sunday, television rating still dropped without the presence of Tiger Woods.

The Final round of the 2008 British Open had just about everything a ‘Tigerless’ tournament could possibly ask for.

Greg Norman, a true legend of the game, was making a miraculous run at the Claret Jug a mere 15 years after his last major victory with a rare chance to go back and re-write his position in the history of the game.  

Hometown hero and defending Champion Padraig Harrington was going head-to-head with Norman.

Anthony Kim, the best young American player to emerge on the scene in quite some time, was right in the hunt with an opportunity to win the British Open at the youthful age of 23.

Eccentric but likable golfer, Ian Poulter caught fire on the back nine and for a time was looking as if he could have won the Open, all while wearing a pair of pink pants.

But none of that was enough.

No matter what story lines were happening, no matter who was involved in those story lines and no matter how exciting the Open was over the weekend, no Tiger Woods still equates to lower television ratings.

The overnight ratings for ABC’s final round coverage fell 14.6% from a 4.1 to a 3.5. 

Believe it or not, this 14.6% decrease is a marked improvement over the typical television ratings for ‘Tigerless’ tournaments.

According to Nielsen Media Research in 2007, tournaments in which Woods finished in the top-five had a 171% increase in ratings over tournaments in which he did not play in or was not in contention. 

Television ratings for The AT&T National, a tournament Tiger Woods hosts and would have undoubtedly played in, dropped 35% in the third round and 48% on Sunday, despite up-and-coming star Anthony Kim leading the tournament.

All-in-all, the first ‘Tigerless’ major can be called a success despite the drop in television ratings.

But the 2008 British Open also showed that no matter what story lines a tournament produces, for the average fan, it will still not be exciting as Tiger Woods simply walking the fairways.