Charity golf match featuring Woods, Mickelson, Brady, Manning draws record-breaking audience

A charity match featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning drew the most viewers for a golf telecast in cable history on Sunday, with “The Match II” attracting 5.8 million viewers for Turner Sports. 

Woods, the defending Masters champion, along with Manning, a two-time Super Bowl victor, topped Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, and Brady, who owns more Super Bowl rings than any quarterback in NFL history with six.

The 2010 Masters previously held the record, drawing 4.9 million viewers on ESPN.

Sunday’s charity event from rain-soaked Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla., raised more than $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.

A golf event held one week prior featuring Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and amateur champion Matthew Wolff also drew exceptional viewership for a charity exhibition, delivering 2.35 million viewers for NBC.

The PGA Tour will return on June 11 at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fans have mostly been without sports since mid-March, when all the major leagues, along with the NCAA tournament, were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

NASCAR was the first sport to return on May 17 for a race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

Several other sports are attempting to return this summer, including Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer.