British Open ratings tank with no Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson in contention

Rory McIlroy may be the next coming of Tiger Woods inside the ropes but the newly crowned British Open champion has a way to go before he wins over viewers slouched on their couches with TV remotes in their hands.

The final round of the Open Championship earned ESPN, which managed a measly 2.3 U.S. rating and 3.3 million viewers, its lowest numbers for the penultimate major on the men’s golf calendar since the network began broadcasting the event in 2009, according to Paulsen/Sports Media Watch.

With Woods and defending champion Phil Mickelson well out of it by the time McIlroy brought his six-stroke advantage to the Royal Liverpool course on Sunday morning, the 26 percent and 25 percent declines in ratings and viewership, respectively, from last year (3.1, 4.4 million) represented the second-lowest figures for a final-round airing since at least 1981. The numbers were equal to those of 2011 and better only than 2010’s 2.1 rating.

Mickelson’s dramatic comeback in Sunday’s finale at last year’s Open Championship helped ESPN draw 4.4 million viewers and capture a 3.1 rating.

ESPN’s coverage of Mickelson’s first British Open victory, with Woods in contention when the day began, ranked as the third-highest among all golf telecasts on cable, behind only the 2008 U.S. Open playoff, which Woods won, and the 2010 Masters first round, when Tiger returned to golf following his personal scandal, according to the Worldwide Leader.

While analysts blamed the dismal ratings of the the first two majors of the 2014 season, the Masters and U.S. Open, on the absence of the injured Woods, even his return to grand slam golf at the Open could not entice viewers to tune in.

Of course, the 14-time major champion barely made the cut on Friday and was out of the running long before McIlroy began his final round.

It remains to be seen whether Woods, who will have one more chance, at next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, can get his game in championship shape before the final major of the campaign in August, the PGA. But CBS can’t count on McIlroy to keep viewers in their recliners, since overnight ratings have dipped in all three of his major wins.

McIlroy’s 2011 U.S. Open triumph -- a tour de force, for sure, but without much drama — drew a 5.1 rating, which was down 26 percent from 2010, according to Paulsen. His second major win at the 2012 PGA Championshi -- by the same eight-shot margin and airing at the same time as the London Summer Olympics— garnered a 3.9 rating (down 9 percent from 2011).