CBS' 2019 Masters Saturday The Highest Rated Golf Telecast In Four Years

A huge rating for CBS Saturday seems more like it for a Tiger telecast from Augusta, making ESPN’s ratings decline even more bizarre.

For Immediate Release:

CBS SPORTS’ 2019 MASTERS THIRD-ROUND COVERAGE IS HIGHEST-RATED

SATURDAY GOLF TELECAST ON ANY NETWORK IN FOUR YEARS

RATINGS RISE  5% FROM LAST YEAR

CBS Sports’ third-round coverage of the 2019 Masters on Saturday, April 13, is the highest-rated Saturday golf telecast on any network in four years since 2015’s Masters third round (6.5/16).  Yesterday’s coverage earned a ratings increase of 5% from last year’s third round (5.7/13) with a 6.0/15 average household metered market rating/share. 

This year’s third-round rating peaked with a 7.0/16 rating/share from 6:00-6:15 PM, ET.  

Top Five Rated Markets:

1)    Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville- 10.8/20

2)    West Palm Beach- 10.6/22

3)    Ft Myers- 10.3/20

4)    Minneapolis- 10.2/26

5)    Nashvillle- 9.5/17

A Tradition We Hope To Never Replicate Again: The 2019 Masters Final Round Is Underway Early

Winter is coming in more ways than one.

It’s a Sunday unlike any other and we sure hope this early start never happens again. With potentially extreme weather coming around 2 pm, the players will have to move quickly, an near impossibility in threesomes and windy conditions.

Saturday was an epic in terms of scoring, reports Christine Brennan. The field was 80 under par, the scoring average the lowest for a third round (70.769) and yet, the field was the largest to make the cut (65).

Amen Corner Live and other feeds are live.

So enjoy! My five wild scenarios for Golfweek consider the range of possibilities.

Assuming we crown a winner, there will be no Green Jacket ceremony outdoors.

The Masters meets Game of Thrones. Whoa.

Instant Poll: Who Will Win The 2019 Masters?

You probably know the stat by now: the last time a Masters winner came from outside the top 5: 1990

Jeff Sherman’s updated final round odds:

2019 Masters updated after 3rd Round

F Molinari 7/4
T Woods 3/1
B Koepka 6/1
T Finau 13/2
D Johnson 25/1
I Poulter 30/1
X Schauffele 30/1
W Simpson 40/1
M Kuchar 40/1
L Oosthuizen 50/1
R Fowler 50/1
A Scott 80/1
J Harding 100/1
J Rahm 100/1
J Thomas 100/1
P Mickelson 150/1

— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) April 13, 2019

Here they are (and ties). Vote away! And set those alarms for some early morning golf, as the last group will tee off at 9:20 am ET, usually the time members are just sitting down for a veranda breakfast.

Who will win the 2019 Masters?

Francesco Molinari

Tony Finau

Tiger Woods

Brooks Koepka

Webb Simpson

Ian Poulter

Someone outside the top 5 (and ties)

pollcode.com free polls

ESPN's 2019 Masters Second Round Draws 3.2 Million, Down From 3.9 Last Year

Guess the Tiger factor isn’t what it used to be, or streaming is eating into overall numbers, or Masters streaming has caused a downtick? Or all of the above?

For Immediate Release:

ESPN’s Second Round Masters Tournament Telecast Attracts 3.2 Million Viewers

ESPN’s telecast of the second round of the Masters Tournament on Friday, April 12, averaged 3.2 million viewers as golf fans tuned in to watch a charge by Tiger Woods on the second nine highlighting a fierce battle of golf stars at the top of the leaderboard. The telecast aired from 3-7:45 p.m. ET from Augusta National Golf Club.

The 3.2 million average, based on Nielsen Fast National data, was ESPN’s second-largest audience for the second round since 2013, exceeded only by the 3.9 million that watched last year. The viewership average does not include the rain delay that halted play from 5:03 – 5:34 p.m. on Friday. 

Friday’s audience was up significantly from 2017 (2.6 million) and 2016 (3.0 million), the last two years that Woods did not compete in the Masters due to injuries. It also was higher than 2015 (3.0 million, with Woods in competition) and 2014 (2.5 million when Woods missed the Masters for the first time in his career). 

For the second day, the Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., market led the nation’s metered markets with a 5.0 rating, up from the 4.6 rating in the market on Thursday for the first round. Other top 10 markets for Friday were Ft. Myers/Naples, Fla., 4.7; Minneapolis-St. Paul, 4.2; Raleigh-Durham, 4.1; Buffalo, 3.7; Indianapolis, Columbus and Cincinnati, tied at 3.4; and Tampa-St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach, tied at 3.3.

Tiger's 14th Hole Birdie Gets Sliding Officer Off The Hook

You’ve surely seen it by now, an officer doing his best Chase Utley impersonation almost took out Tiger Woods in the name of well-intentioned but slightly overzealous policing of the patrons.

Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier talked to the poor lad, who is just happy Tiger capped off the hole with a birdie.

It earned the Menery treatment…

What We Can Learn From Zach Johnson's Spectacular 13th Tee False Start

So many wacky things happened Friday that we still mustn’t let Zach Johnson’s practice swing gone bad go forgotten. Oh, and besides an S-bomb from Zach—understandable—it’s a teaching moment about intent and the rules, writes Doug Ferguson.

Zach Johnson just laid up off the tee pic.twitter.com/rvjsf7UlMm

— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) April 12, 2019

Hopefully A Tradition Never To Happen Again: Masters Will Need To Mull A Full Monday Finish

I spent the latter parts of Friday’s exciting final round reading weather reports for this weekend’s violent storms and as Jim Nantz noted during the broadcast, the situation is ominous given an added element: high winds.

I do not envy the committee’s job given all of the logistics involved and unpredictability of weather, but as I lay out in this Golfweek column, no change in the bleak forecast and this leaderboard should make the call relatively easy: postpone the final round to Monday.

ESPN Suffers Transmission Failures During 2019 Masters; Round 1 Ratings Down From 2018

I write for Golfweek on the tech issues for ESPN and a surprising drop in round 1 ratings given the hype for this Masters.

The social media account has Tiger “hitting” birdies too on top of, uh, rock and roll going to commercial? Glad Clifford Roberts wasn’t around to see this…

Tiger was pumped up after hitting this birdie on the 15th hole 💪 pic.twitter.com/LadiMAYY3e

— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2019

Round One Wrap, Day Two Preview: Tricky Pins No Defense Against Soft And Wind (When It's Down)

So goes the wind, so goes scoring at Augusta National. That seemed to be the takeaway Thursday after tough, swirling winds kept scoring in check and players pleased with their under par scores early. The afternoon wave suffered early, but if they survived the difficult front nine, the wind laying down late led to a birdie barrage that put afternoon starters Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson at the top.

As I note here for Golfweek, players brought up the hole locations after their round and I interpret what that means.

The day one locations can be referenced here. No let up in the tucked hole locations on a soggy day 2 morning:

Here are the hole locations for the second round of #themasters. pic.twitter.com/NTJedx273Q

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 12, 2019

The big stat on so many minds given the leaderboard and history:

27 of the last 28 Masters champions were inside the top-10 after the 2nd round. 4 of the last 5 held the 36-hole lead or co-lead.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) April 12, 2019

The shot and moment of the day belonged to Bryson DeChambeau, whose 18th hole second shot hit the flagstick and stayed out, leading to his ninth birdie of the round and the co-lead with Brooks Koepka. The magical finish and story from Beth Ann Nichols.

Phil Mickelson had his best first round since 2010 and is just one stroke back of Koepka and DeChambeau.

Your groupings and TV info here.

WSJ: Augusta National Has Spent $200 Million On Real Estate Purchases, New TV Compound Coming Next

Thanks to reader JB for Brian Costa’s Wall Street Journal look at Augusta National’s real estate purchases, with the Journal estimating $200 million spent.

From the story, with some really nice graphics and an overhead aerial of 2002 vs. 2018 worth playing with too.

In the areas immediately surrounding golf’s most exclusive club, there are generally only two types of properties: the ones Augusta National has acquired—and the ones it will acquire.

In the last 20 years, the club has spent around $200 million to buy more than 100 pieces of land totaling no fewer than 270 acres, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of property and tax assessor records and interviews with people familiar with the transactions.

To further insulate one of the most hallowed grounds in American sports from the outside world, Augusta National has bought and demolished entire residential blocks and commercial strips. It has purchased properties more than a mile from its iconic clubhouse. And it is hardly slowing down.

The Augusta Chronicle’s Susan McCord looks at the announcement Wednesday by Chairman Fred Ridley explaining what some of these purchases mean: a new television compound across the street.

Until Amen Corner Live Comes Around, How To Use The (Incredible) New Masters.com Toy To Reviewing Every Shot, Every Hole

Christmas in April arrives around 11:15 am-ish ET in the form of Amen Corner Live. That’s about when Andrew Landry, Adam Long and Kevin Tway will be arriving to kick off the coverage from Augusta National’s 11th, 12th and 13th holes.

But before then, you can sample the new Masters.com leaderboard announced Wednesday and see every shot hit so far, within minutes of actually happening. The early signs are beyond encouraging.

A few observations:

—We are already seeing new camera angles and shots we have not seen before.

—The shots include graphics with score information as well.

—The design is simple and makes sense on a desktop or on the Masters app.

—Speed is varying, from within minutes of a player completing the hole to a half-hour in some cases.

Here’s how to use it:

Pull up any Masters leaderboard, both traditional and modern views. Players whose score features a while backdrop will feature a replay of all shots. Scores in grey have yet to be posted.

The look on mobile:

Ridley Draws The Line On Distance? No 13th Hole Changes Until Distance Report Arrives

The predicted (second) lengthening of Augusta National’s 13th hole will not be happening in the summer of 2019 based on Chairman Fred Ridley’s prepared remarks delivered to the media Wednesday.

Read carefully and read between those lines…

It should come as no surprise to any of you that we continue to study other enhancements to the golf course.  That includes much‑talked‑about changes, potential changes, to the 13th hole. 

Admittedly, that hole does not play as it was intended to play by Jones and MacKenzie.  The momentous decision that I've spoken about and that Bobby Jones often spoke about, of going for the green in two, is to a large extent, no longer relevant. 

Although we now have options to increase the length of this hole, we intend to wait to see how distance may be addressed by the governing bodies before we take any action.

I think the former USGA president may have just suggested he senses action is coming.

I’m sorry, I interrupted…

In doing so, we fully recognize that the issue of distance presents difficult questions with no easy answers.  But please know this:  The USGA and The R&A do have the best interests of the game at heart.  They recognize the importance of their future actions.  You can be assured that we will continue to advocate for industry‑wide collaboration in support of the governing bodies as they resolve this very important topic. 

Of course, no resolution has been the stance of the PGA Tour, PGA of America and most major manufacturers, so the idea of a conclusion to the liking of Mr. Ridley and Augusta National would seem to include some form of new distance regulation. Or a new tee that they clearly do not want to add.

First Of First World Matters: Augusta Country Club Now Visible From Augusta National

While Big Oak gabbers have been looking over shoulders for a more interesting conversation, some have noticed the shocking sight of Augusta Country Club in the distance.

Now, most people would appreciate such views to capture the scale and grandeur of a property, but Augusta National values its privacy. So the ability to see through may not be something the club is too excited about.

From Doug Stutsman’s Augusta Chronicle story:

After a land deal between the two clubs in 2017, Augusta Country Club underwent a regrassing and bunker renovation project through most of last year, while holes Nos. 8 and 9 received an architectural change. During the project, which forced Augusta Country Club to close its course for 5 1/2 months, trees were removed from No. 8, in turn leaving a more unobstructed view of both courses.

“Taking out trees to the left of No. 8 at Augusta Country Club really opened it up,” Mize said. “But, look, these are two great clubs. Two tremendous clubs. So this is OK. This isn’t a bad thing.”

2019 Masters Picks Roundup: Will A Soft Course Favor Bombers?

The tradition unlike another other

I penned this almost-opinion piece for Golfweek about the soft conditions and whether the players who carry the ball longest will be an a distinct advantage. My instinct says yes, but Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and others made a case that distance will have just its normal advantage. In part, that may stem from the fairway cut here that has minimized roll in the last decade.

That said, here are the leaders in PGA Tour carry distance.

Remember, No. 5 adds another driver back in the hands of the big boys.

David Dusek looks at the statistics if you’re wanting to validate a case for longer players.

Dan Kilbridge reaches out to the last minute gamblers and fantasy players with his advice for Golfweek.

Ryan Herrington offers up nine "sneaky” picks for Golf World.

ESPN’s Chris Fallica is picking Jon Rahm and expanding his efforts to the Masters, reports Doug Stutsman for the Augusta Chronicle.

The Golf.com gang makes their picks here.

Players React To New Fifth: Long, Tough And The Driver Restored

I penned this piece for Golfweek rounding up player assessments of the remodeled 5th hole.

Jim McCabe at Masters.com looks at the changes and there is a fantastic flyover where the new left hole location resored is visible.

Fred Ridley spoke about the changes today:

As has been reported, last summer, the fifth tee was moved back and shifted away from the fourth green.  In doing so, the fairway landing area was regraded and the bunkers were repositioned.  While this hole now measures 40 yards longer, we believe this change maintains the original design philosophy of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, and not only continues our commitment to keep the course in step with the changing state of the game, but we believe it will have a positive impact on pace of play. 

As part of this renovation, we took the opportunity to rebuild and slightly enlarge the fifth green.  In doing so, we were able to make adjustments to the back left portion of the putting green in order to support new hole locations. 

But an exciting byproduct of this instruction is the improvements to our patron experience.  For the first time, we will route patrons down the right side of the fourth hole, as well as behind the green, providing an attractive vantage point for this challenging par 3. 

The new tee at No. 5 also provides for additional viewing areas, so we feel these holes have been much improved from a patron perspective. 

Here is the Masters Instagram post and flyover embed.

View this post on Instagram

Chairman Fred Ridley on hole No. 5, Magnolia: “While this hole now measures 40 yards longer, we believe this change maintains the original design philosophy of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie.”

A post shared by The Masters (@themasters) on Apr 10, 2019 at 9:14am PDT

The bunkers are just a bit large off the tee and overwhelming in scale and difficulty given what both Bob Jones and Alister MacKenzie detailed (they were conflicted about those bunkers, with Jones adding them after the course opened and after having shot down their initial inclusion). A drive over those bunkers—314 carry—may not be rewarded with a clean look at the green from the fairway if there is any run to the ball.. It feels like the location of the old bunkers was not adequately filled in, so I suspect the tee shot will actually favor a left to right shape.

The green complex still looks intimidating and in firmer years may prompt a run-up, with the new left hole location an almost impossible birdie unless a player sinks a long putt.