Tiger Woods effect leads to highest PGA Tour ratings in 5 years

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods was one shot away from a chance to win, and the PGA Tour had its largest television audience in five years.

NBC Sports Group says the final round of the Valspar Championship earned a 5.11 overnight rating, up 190 percent over the previous year and the highest-rated PGA Tour broadcast since Woods won The Players Championship in 2013. That doesn’t include the majors.

Woods, returning from a fourth back surgery, was one shot out of the lead going into the final round. He had a 40-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Paul Casey and came up short.

Golf Channel’s two-hour window before the NBC telecast Sunday earned a 1.65 rating, its highest-rated coverage for the lead-in window since it began in 2009.