"It's Almost Immeasurable" - PNC Senior Executive On Tiger Woods Impact

The PNC Championship is set for huge numbers this week as Tiger Woods returns to our TV screens

Tiger and Charlie Woods fist bump
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The bulk of the 2021 golfing calendar is done and dusted, however this week is set to be one of the biggest of the entire year as golf fans get to see Tiger Woods return to the fairways just 10 months after his horrific car crash in Los Angeles.

Woods is back hitting golf shots already and is set to ride his cart and team up with son Charlie at the family event, which features 20 Major winners who each get to team up with a family member. Tiger 'moves the needle' in a way that other golfers can't get close to, and the PNC Championship organisers are expecting a mammoth week of ratings, news stories and social media impressions.

The tournament has already had to create a spill-over media centre in the on-site hotel according to Golf.com, with PNC's senior executive saying that the Woods factor is "almost immeasurable."

“It’s almost immeasurable,” Lou Cestello told Golf.com. “We’ll have to see what the TV ratings end up being. Tiger just kind blows the lid off it in terms of the popularity. Certainly his and Charlie’s involvement has created a fervor around this event that we have not seen in the past. It’s already the highlight of our nine-year history, his making his comeback here.”  

Tiger and Charlie surprisingly teed it up in the PNC Championship last year, where they finished in 7th place, and their inclusion suddenly made the PNC a must-watch. That was evident in the 1.5m viewers across both days, which was almost three times more than the previous year's edition. This week's numbers look set to eclipse those as the entire golf world gets the chance to see Tiger Woods play golf on TV for the first time since November 2020.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV