Wraparound Mania: Live PGA Tour Final Round Draws 116,000

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Son of the Bronx continues to post ratings for cable channels and while Golf Channel was up nicely again this week over last year, you have to wonder if they wouldn't be doing better just showing international golf, reality shows, Tin Cup re-airings and special programming instead of the ratings wet suit that is the PGA Tour.

The final round of the OHL Classic from Mayacoba, Mexico, with ResetCup points on the line, a Masters berth and PGA Tour immortality for winner Harris English, had 116,000 viewers for its Sunday final round. That put it 6th for the week, behind the European Tour's final round (.1, 127k viewers), a Monday movie airing, the Saturday telecast from Mayakoba and of course, the week's top show, Big Break XX: NFL. (A rerun of Big Break on Tuesday of the previous week's episode proved to be the 14th most watched show, drawing 86,000.)

The Australian Masters final round, airing on the bottom basement of Saturday night in America from 9:30-1:30 am ET drew 92,000 viewers despite minimal promotion, no pre-game show but admittedly, a far more attractive product with Royal Melbourne, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Matt Kuchar as the protagonists. The Thursday night telecast (Round 2, drew 99,000 viewers.

Viewer Discretion Advisory: Thursday Morning Drive

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You Golf Channel Morning Drive watchers have been warned: I'll be on the second hour of the show airing live at 7 am ET and (I think) re-airing at 9 am ET (check those dreaded local listings.)

The opening hour will include Gary Williams interviewing Ron Sirak about the latest Golf Digest story on the USGA.

In hour two, Williams, Sirak, former USGA Executive Director David Fay and yours truly will be discussing the state of the USGA.

After that, the plan calls for a segment discussing Royal Melbourne's best holes and its amazing bunkers. So tune in!

Must See Video: Chi Chi Takes One In The...

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And just in case you were wondering if he's still Chi Chi Rodriguez, master of the one-liner, Chi Chi he reels off two brilliant one liners immediately after the embarrassing incident.

This is an outake from his Big Break NFL cameo airing Tuesday, November 19th, courtesy of Golf Channel:

And our crew at GolfDigest.com has the requisite GIF for your files.

Golf Channel's Baldesarra Heads To CNN...

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Merrill Knox reports on Golf Channel's Lara Baldesarra heading to CNN International after working at Golf Channel.

Baldesarra had worked on shows like the Grey Goose 19th Hole and Golf Central.

CNN announced today that Lara Baldesarra is joining the network’s sports unit in Atlanta. Starting in December, she will anchor World Sport, the flagship sports news program on CNN International, and contribute to sports-related event coverage across all CNN platforms.

“We’re thrilled with Lara’s addition to CNN’s global sports operation,” said Bill Galvin, senior vice president of sports programming and development for CNN. “Her expertise as a leading voice in the sports world aligns perfectly with CNN’s commitment to providing a thoughtful perspective across a broad range of news and events.”