Tiger Woods is a boon to golf, sponsors and broadcasters

A ROAR like this had not been heard on a golf course for almost a decade. It was the sound of fans cheering on Tiger Woods as he made crucial putts, pumped his fist and almost won a big tournament, the USPGA Championship, on August 12th. Although Mr Woods finished second there were cheers and fist-pumps off-camera, too, from network executives and his sponsors. They know that Tiger is back, and they know, too, that that is very good for business.

No individual athlete has as outsized an impact on the popularity of his sport as Mr Woods when he is in contention at a tournament. Nearly 8.5m Americans tuned in to watch the USPGA’s final round, according to Nielsen, a research outfit which measures viewership. That was 73% more viewers than for the same day a year ago, when Mr Woods did not take part. It was the biggest audience for the tournament since 2009, the last time Mr Woods had a chance to win it (another second-place finish).

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