Tiger Woods out of the picture, TV ratings in the tank

Case 1: Buick Open. The first event of three events so far that Woods would have played but missed because of his knee surgery. The overnight rating on CBS for the fourth round was down 12%, from a 1.7 to a 1.5.

Case 2: AT&T National. Worse. The overnight ratings for the fourth round on CBS were down 48%, from a 2.9 to a 1.5. Third-round ratings dipped 35%, from a 2.0 to a 1.3.

Case 3: British Open. Not good. The overnight ratings for ABC's final round coverage Sunday fell 14.6%, from a 4.1 to a 3.5.

None of this is good news, despite the intriguing British Open story lines of Greg Norman trying to hold it together at age 53, and Padraig Harrington coming through to win his second consecutive Open title.

But with the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup -- two of pro golf's biggest titles -- still on the table, and both without Woods, you can be sure the PGA of America is keeping its fingers crossed for both of its prime properties.

And that's not even mentioning CBS and NBC, their broadcast partners.

TV update

The British Open will be an all-cable major beginning in 2010 and be carried only on ESPN, ending a 50-year association with ABC, according to SportsBusiness Journal. The seven-year deal is not yet finalized but reported to be around $25 million a year.

Chatter

Add forgettable quotes: From Ian Baker-Finch of TBS on the chances of perpetually poor closer Norman in the fourth round: "Can he erase all of those [bad] memories? No, he can't. But can he deal with them at 53 years of age? I think he can."

And add this one, too, from Bill Kratzert of TBS on Norman's chances -- before he shot 77: "You know what, the Shark has not gone away."

From Norman: "I can walk away from here being disappointed, but I can walk away from here with my head held high because I hung in there."

From Richard Johnson, who won the PGA Tour's U.S. Bank Championship on Sunday after ditching his old putter: "I gave it back to the manufacturer. I don't break clubs."

Kim collapse

At least it's gotten to the point that when Anthony Kim doesn't get the job done, it's surprising.

Anyway, the bad news for Kim is that he folded in the fourth round at Birkdale and closed with three straight bogeys when he had a chance to win the British Open in his first try. He wound up with a five-over 75 and tied for seventh.

The good news for Kim, only 23, is that he banked $193,743.48, in his attempt to become just the 11th to win the Open in his first try and the fourth since Ben Hogan in 1953 at Carnoustie. The other three who've done that since Hogan are Tony Lema in 1964 at St. Andrews, Tom Watson in 1975 at Carnoustie and Ben Curtis in 2003 at Sandwich.

The other good news for Kim is that his bank account is swelling. He's made $2.42 million of his $3.45 million this year in only three tournaments -- winning at the Wachovia and the AT&T National, plus the British.