Tiger gives ratings boost; he’ll be Prez Cup captain
AP
Tiger Woods was one shot away from a chance to win, and the PGA Tour had its largest television audience in five years.
NBC Sports Group says the final round of the Valspar Championship earned a 5.11 overnight rating, up 190 percent over the previous year and the highestrated PGA Tour broadcast since Woods won The Players Championship in 2013. That doesn’t include the majors. Woods, returning from a fourth back surgery, was one shot out of the lead going into the final round. He had a 40-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Paul Casey and came up short.
Golf Channel’s two-hour window before the NBC telecast Sunday earned a 1.65 rating, its highest-rated coverage for the lead-in window since it began in 2009.
Also on Monday, a source said that Woods and Ernie Els have agreed to be Presidents Cup captains for the 2019 matches in Melbourne, Australia, according to two people involved in the event. They are expected to be introduced Tuesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational near Orlando, Florida.
Woods has been heavily involved in team event while not playing in recent years because of back injuries. He was an assistant to Steve Stricker in the Presidents Cup last year.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to reach 600 goals and Evgeny Kuznetsov had the overtime winner as the Washington Capitals returned to first place by beating the visiting Winnipeg Jets 3-2.
Ovechkin scored in each of the first two periods to get to 42 this season. The Russian winger became the 20th player and fourth-fastest in NHL history to 600 goals and is on pace to lead the league in goals for the seventh time.
Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway 4:11 into overtime.
UConn is back in a familiar place — the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament.
Joining the Huskies as top seeds are Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State.
The Huskies enter as the lone unbeaten team and will be vying for their 12th national championship. It’s the ninth time that UConn has entered the NCAAs undefeated, including last year, when the Huskies went in as the overwhelming favorite before their 111game winning streak ended with a loss to Mississippi State in the Final Four.
Venus Williams defeated younger sister Serena 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., her first win in the sibling rivalry since 2014.
Venus closed out the 11/2-hour match on her second match point when Serena’s forehand service return sailed long. It was one of Serena’s 41 unforced errors, including 17 on the forehand side.
Serena still owns a 17-12 advantage overall, although Venus evened their WTA Tour head-tohead meetings at 7-7.