Woods’ return to Augusta Masters most-watched golf event ever

GEORGIA - American World No.1 golfer Tiger Woods’ dramatic return to the game has made this year’s Masters Tournament, played at Augusta National, the most-watched golf event of all time.

According to ESPN, official broadcaster of the tournament, five million viewers watched Woods’ return on Thursday after a scandal-hit five-month lull.

The figure is 47 percent above the audience for the opening day of the 2009 Masters.

“Tiger has taken sports off the sports page and put it in the front of the paper. It’s like a car crash,” The New York Daily News quoted Bob Gutkowski, a New York-based media consultant, as saying.

“People pull over to take a look at the car crash. That’s what’s going on with the Masters. These are not people who are going to stick to viewing golf, this is a unique situation, and the titillation factor is huge,” he added.

The tournament moves to CBS for the final rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, CBS News and Sports President, Sean McManus, said that the channel expects Woods’ return “to be the biggest media event other than the Obama inauguration in the past 10 or 15 years”. (ANI)