Search Results Masters audience big, but not Tiger-sized By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) - The Masters did not post record-setting ratings, but the tournament proved it doesn't need Tiger Woods to attract a big audience. The two-day overnight average for CBS' coverage was an 8.6 rating/23 share, the second highest Masters since at least 1986, according to the network. But it was still 33 percent lower than Woods' historic performance in 1997, which got a 12.8/27 overnight, the highest in Masters history. CBS did not have overnight ratings available from before 1986. With Woods out of contention early Sunday, CBS turned the focus away from the defending champion. In 1997, CBS showed 66 of Woods' 69 final-round shots. On Sunday, Woods didn't make his first appearance on the broadcast for 45 minutes and CBS showed only four of his shots. Woods' biggest air time came when he put the green jacket on winner Mark O'Meara. "Tiger helped create the excitement, but he doesn't have to be on the top of the leaderboard to achieve a big rating," said Rob Correa, CBS' vice president of programming. "The Masters tournament is always going to be bigger than Tiger Woods. The numbers proved that this year." Without Woods to dominate the cameras, CBS followed all of the top contenders - O'Meara, Fred Couples, David Duval and Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus' run for a seventh Masters title was the focus of CBS' early coverage, as coordinating producer Lance Barrow documented Nicklaus' change up the leaderboard. When the telecast opened, Nicklaus was three shots off the lead. He closed within two shots, before finishing four shots behind O'Meara. "That was a huge help, because he had been plastered across the sports pages Sunday morning and stayed in it until 6:20 p.m.," Correa said. Saturday's coverage got a 6.9/19, the second highest overnight since 1986 and 20 percent below the 8.6/20 from last year. Sunday's rating was 9.9/26, the fourth highest final round and 37 percent lower than 1997. A rating point represents 980,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 98 million TV homes. Share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

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