LeBron James is the unquestioned king of U.S. sports media. But there’s one man who’s been there before and is proving he still has the swag to challenge James for his throne. That man, of course, is Tiger Woods. Love him or hate him, if you’re a sports fan, you can’t turn your eyes away from Woods when he’s competing. Compete he did on Sunday at the PGA Championship, and the ratings bore out what we all know. People watch Woods. CBS announced that Sunday’s final-round coverage from Bellerive that saw Woods shoot a brilliant 6-under par and come up two painful strokes short of Brooks Koepka was good for an average rating of 6.1, a whopping 69-percent ratings boost over last year’s final round from Quail Hollow. Woods’ performance had folks glued to their couches with their thumbs on the Twitter button on a summer Sunday afternoon. Am I the only one who hasn’t moved from the couch since 2:35 watching @TigerWoods??? — Chris Paul (@CP3) August 12, 2018 I’m sitting here GLUED to the TV. Got a hellava leaderboard for the final 4 holes of the @PGAChampionship with @TigerWoods all up in the hunt!!! I just need him to get 1 more major. #golfismyaddiction — Garrett Temple (@GTemp17) August 12, 2018 Sunday’s ratings bump comes on the heels of the The Open Championship, which saw Woods briefly take the lead on the back nine on Sunday and account for a 38 percent ratings surge, the best numbers the event had seen since 2000. Story continues In general, the average American sports fan does not care about golf. The average American cares about Tiger Woods. Given the highs of his highs and the lows of his lows, his comeback has the potential be one of America’s greatest-ever sports stories. If Woods manages to contend or even win at The Masters next April, where he opened as the No. 5 betting favorite, it will officially announce 2019 as the summer of Tiger. You know you’ll tune in. The Tiger Woods fist pump was back at the PGA Championship on Sunday, and so were the ratings. (AP) More from Yahoo Sports: • Dan Wetzel: Is Tiger Woods back? • Charles Robinson: Broncos may be running out of patience with young QB • Cubs stun Nationals with one of baseball’s rarest plays • Jeff Passan: Latest incident proves MLB is still a white man’s game<doc-sep>PGA Championship TV ratings are in and you won't be surprised to learn that CBS is extremely happy with how they turned out. The network is the latest to reap the benefit of Tiger Woods' latest comeback, announcing a 6.1 rating for Sunday's final round, up 69 percent from 2017. Woods finished runner-up, but stole the show with a 64 that included a dizzying three-under par front nine in which he failed to hit a single fairway.<doc-sep>Charlie Riedel/Associated Press Tiger Woods remains the king of golf ratings. With Woods in contention Sunday at the PGA Championship, chasing eventual winner Brooks Koepka, the event saw a 69 percent increase in ratings from last year, according to CBS Sports: The top five markets for CBS' coverage were as follows: 1. St. Louis: 11.5 rating/24 share 2. Fort Myers: 11.2/22 3. Kansas City: 10.4/22 4. Tampa/St. Petersburg: 9.8/21 T5. Dayton: 9.5/19 T5. West Palm Beach: 9.5/18 Woods was superb Sunday, shooting a six-under 64 that propelled him to second place for the tournament. But he couldn't catch Koepka, who steadily shot a four-under 66 to maintain a two-stroke cushion and win his third major since June 2017 (he has won the past two U.S. Opens). The intrigue surrounding the final round was built around Woods and whether he could play himself into contention for his first major title since 2008 and his first win overall since 2013. But the attention may be shifting toward the 28-year-old Koepka, who has won three of the past seven majors. While players like Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy often receive much of the fanfare, none has won a major since Spieth won the British Open in 2017. Without question, Woods' comeback from a number of back surgeries remains the biggest story in golf. In his prime, Woods was the biggest superstar the sport has ever seen. It's not surprising that his comeback engenders so much interest, especially considering that he's playing legitimately great golf at the moment: Video Play Button Videos you might like It all set up a fascinating final round Sunday. Golf's biggest storyline, Woods, was nipping at the heels of Koepka, who has been the best player in majors over the past 14 months. In the end, Woods couldn't ascend from storyline to champion once more. But there was amazing drama in watching him come tantalizingly close.<doc-sep>
Tiger Woods is returning to form with back-to-back top-of-the-leaderboard finishes at the past two major golf championships, the latest with a rousing second-place finish behind Brooks Koepka on Sunday at the PGA Championship. If you didn’t watch the round on CBS, you’d know Woods’ presence by the early ratings numbers: CBS Sports’ coverage drew a 6.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 69% over last year’s tournament, as Woods was in the final three groupings at Bellerive in St. Louis. It was the best early number for a final round at the major since 2009, according to Nielsen. Woods, beset by injuries but fresh off a tie for sixth at the British Open, finished two shots back after a birdie on 18 — he shot a final-round 64, his best-ever number in a final round of a major. Ranked in the 1000s as early as December, he now has five top-10 finished is 14 starts this year as he regains his form — even he knows it, with a red-shirted fist-pump on 18 at after draining a 19-foot birdie putt that would secure second place. Koepka, who started the day with a two-stroke lead, held off Woods and playing partner Adam Scott for his third major title. Sunday’s ratings peaked with an 8.3 rating from 7-7:15 PM ET. The final round of the British Open last month on NBC drew a 5.0 rating on NBC and Golf Channel, the best for that event since 2006 and the second-best ever after the 2000 tournament, which Woods won.