On the first weekend with no football since early August, the PGA Tour had an opportunity to grab a nice little windfall of an audience in late January. That opportunity took a major blow on Friday afternoon when Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Farmers Insurance Open 2017 live stream: How to watch Round 3 on Saturday online
Torrey Pines serves as the unofficial start to the golf season, and Jim Nantz will be there to usher it in this weekend.
Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images
Tiger is the kind of draw that no one has ever or will ever match in the game of golf. His presence entirely changes the dynamic of a tournament, even when he’s playing like garbage. There are Tiger tourneys and then there are non-Tiger tourneys on the PGA Tour, and the TV ratings have always most starkly reflected that.
This was Tiger’s first start in 17 months, so there was an added weight and hype. Unfortunately for the PGA Tour, golf fans, and the broadcast partners, he and a handful of other superstars were beat up by this Torrey Pines setup and couldn’t make it to the weekend.
With the off week between NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl, this huge chance for golf to take center stage is now gone. The Australian Open will gladly take the boost even if it’s a middle-of-the-night broadcast back in the States.
CBS is the biggest loser with Tiger’s missing the cut. The network is making its return to the PGA Tour as well, coming off the usual hiatus it goes on for football season. This is CBS’ first PGA Tour event since The Barclays in August, but it will have the reins on the weekends for the rest of the West Coast swing.
Golf Channel will have its customary early-round coverage on the weekend before that annoying 30-minute blackout stretch kicks in during the switch over to CBS. That this blackout still exists is an inexcusable travesty, but it looks like we’re stuck with it for another season. If you’re unable to watch on TV, both GC and CBS will have simulcast streams up and running online.
Here’s the full media schedule for the third round at the Farmers:
Saturday’s third round coverage
Television:
1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel
3 to 6 p.m. ET — CBS
Online streams:
1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel LiveExtra simulcast stream
3 to 6 p.m. ET — PGATour.com/CBS simulcast stream
Radio:
1 to 6 p.m. ET — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)
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