Tiger Woods delivers Masters ratings win for CBS, blunted by early start

[April 17, 2019]    (Reuters) - CBS Corp said on Tuesday that the broadcast of the Masters final round live coverage averaged 10.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched golf broadcast since last year's Masters final round.

Tiger Woods of the U.S. celebrates on the 18th hole after winning the 2019 Masters. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

The final 18 holes, in which Tiger Woods came from behind to win his first major title in 11 years, was watched by 37.2 million viewers in total, up 41 percent from last year's live coverage. It was the most watched Masters Sunday in six years.

The victory led to an outpouring of praise from world leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump said he would award Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Broadcast of the live coverage of the final round was moved to Sunday morning due to weather, which affected its ratings. The match was the most-watched morning golf game in 32 years.

Sunday's final round was rebroadcast in the afternoon. The live coverage peaked with 18.3 million viewers from 2:15 to 2:30 p.m. ET.

Woods' win is seen boosting the golf business he helped transform 25 years ago.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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