BMW Ratings Worst For PGA Tour Event Since Early July

The John Deere Classic--major that it inexplicably was--drew a 1.2 in early July and since then PGA Tour event ratings have been mostly up, or mostly way, way up.

Paulsen (by way of Sports Business Daily) says the BMW Championship (1.3 overnight rating) won by Jason Day was down 13% from last year and 42% from a comparable broadcast (2012).

The third round was down 18% from last year.

Jason Day winning in runaway fashion doesn't help, but the solid college ratings Saturday and some shockingly strong NFL ratings Sunday reinforce that BMW and the Western Golf Association are overpaying for a slot that will never be able to draw an audience. One of golf's premier sponsors and one its most historic tournament operators both deserve better.

Which is why, as I noted in today's Forward Press, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem needs to at least stop suggesting the playoffs are working post-Labor Day. Suggesting a re-thinking of the calendar would be nice too, but I'm not counting on it.

Though not posted online, Colin Cowherd had a wonderful segment on the power of fantasy with the arrival of even bigger stakes (DraftKings) to not only draw huge NFL audiences, but to also make people stay with a game no matter how awful the product (Eagles-Cowboys).