The final round of this year’s PGA Championship was the most exciting round of golf in years.  And it was one of the best sporting events of 2014 thus far.  Rory McIlroy won his second straight major and fourth overall to officially arrive as the game’s new alpha.  Rory fought off Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson on a dramatic day that saw a barrage of birdies and eagles against the backdrop of a race against daylight.  McIlroy tapped in on the final hole to clinch victory in the dark with popping flash bulbs lighting up the scene like something out of a movie script.

With Tiger Woods a distant memory missing the cut, the final round was a look at what golf’s future will look like in this new era.  This tournament presented our best look yet at the reality facing the sport as it begins to ponder a future without Tiger Woods.  There was nothing more that CBS or the PGA Tour could ask for from the final round of a major sans-Tiger.  Not only did they have golf’s next big star (Rory), they had arguably its most popular player (Mickelson), and the best young player in American golf (Fowler) all tied for the lead at one point.  Big names like Els, Furyk, Day, and Stenson also populated the leaderboard on Sunday.

In fact, the coverage was CBS was quite enjoyable because there wasn’t a Tiger-sized shadow over the event.  The need to always make Woods the lead story no matter if he’s in contention or not can get tiresome.  The golf taking center stage on Sunday was very refreshing.  Perhaps the PGA’s television partners should learn that taking some of Woods’ spotlight and shining it elsewhere could be beneficial for growing these new young stars and growing interest in the game, not just Tiger.

If the PGA Championship couldn’t secure a good rating with that action and that leaderboard, then the sport is more lost than we thought moving past the Eldrick Era.

The first ratings data is in, and it’s an encouraging sign for golf.  The PGA Championship overnight rating did increase significantly on Sunday.  The initial number is a 6.0 overnight rating, up 36% from last year’s victory by Jason Dufner.  And it was the highest rating for the tournament in five years, when Y.E. Yang shocked the world by overtaking Woods on Sunday for the win.

To put that rating further in perspective, it’s almost twice the rating the US Open received this year (3.3 overnight) in Martin Kaymer’s dominant victory.  And it’s surprisingly close to what The Masters drew this year for Bubba Watson’s second green jacket (6.8 rating).  Usually the PGA Championship doesn’t come near the Masters rating.

Seeing such a sizable increase for the PGA Championship is a welcome sight after what has been a terrible year for major championship ratings.

Any tournament with Tiger Woods is going to draw a better television rating than one without.  His drawing power transcends golf and the sport may not reach those heights again in our lifetime.  But as the sport moves into the future, this year’s PGA Championship is evidence that the sport will certainly survive and the next generation will still be able to captivate audiences.

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