July 2001 - Tiger Helps PGA Roar
The PGA Tour has put together a new four-year deal (2003-2007) with three television networks and three cable outlets worth $900 million, a 55 percent increase over the current package, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Tuesday), citing individuals familiar with the deal. The newspaper noted that Tour execs had been hoping to get $1 billion but that slumping ad spending and lack of competition among the networks for the broadcast rights tempered the increase. The newspaper observed that, thanks to the popularity of Tiger Woods, golf is the only sport that has increased its audience in recent years, while ratings for other sports have been marked by sizable erosion.

June 2001 - Tiger Woods sets record with 97 consecutive weeks at No. 1
Tiger Woods broke Greg Norman's record with his 97th consecutive week atop the world golf rankings.
Despite a 16th place finish at the Buick Classic last weekend, Woods, kept his No. 1 ranking, exceeding the previous 96-week record set by Norman from June 18, 1995, to April 13, 1997.
In the latest rankings released Tuesday, Spain's Sergio Garcia, who won the Buick Classic on Monday for his second victory on the PGA Tour in five weeks, moved up three places to a career high No. 5.
Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh remained at Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

June 2001 - Ratings Sink As Woods' Balls Don't
Suggesting that audiences remain interested in golf telecasts only when Tiger Woods is on his game, ratings for Sunday's NBC coverage of the U.S. Open fell 20 percent from last year. Overnight figures indicated that the telecast averaged a 7.0 rating, down from an 8.8 for the comparable day a year ago. Saturday's rating was a 5.5 versus a 6.5 last year. The golf contest was won by Retief Goosen of South Africa. Reporting on the sinking ratings for the Open, today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal commented that they reflect "the vulnerability of a sport that relies primarily on a single athlete, a fact that could ripple through negotiations over television-broadcast rights."

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