As the TV Ratings Go, So Goes Bighorn III

With the possible exception of David Duval, nothing in the world of golf is hotter than the sand in the bunkers at Bighorn, which is pretty much guaranteed to melt the soles of your shoes.

The temperature for the third Battle at Bighorn late this afternoon is going to be high, we know that, but the actual reason there is even a third edition is the chance that the television ratings are going to be right up there too.

So far, the only constants in this series have been Tiger Woods, not a bad place to start, and escalating television ratings. Let’s check the storied history. Battle I featuring Woods and Duval had a 6.9 rating. Last year, Battle II with Woods and Sergio Garcia drew a 7.6 rating, a 10% increase.

What this means for Battle III is unclear, since we’re entering uncharted territory for ceremonial, made-for-TV, prime-time, special-event golf. But ABC is crossing its fingers and hoping to break the 8.0 mark in today’s day-into-night edition of Reality TV.

In case you viewers out there haven’t kept track, it’s a mixed-team event. On one side, it’s Woods and Annika Sorenstam and on the other, it’s new British Open champion Duval and Karrie Webb. They’re playing an alternate-shot format with Woods-Duval hitting drives on odd-numbered holes and Sorenstam-Webb hitting drives on even-numbered holes.

Not surprisingly, Jack Graham, ABC’s golf coverage producer, expects big things from Battle III.

“It’s probably the most interesting format we’ve had so far,” Graham said. “This is really, really interesting and I think it’s going to grab a lot of people’s attention. I think it’ll be even better than the other two, ratings-wise.”

We can only hope. However, no matter the ratings, the actual live golf can’t be any more dull than the preceding two shows, the first highlighted by a Duval shot landing behind a huge boulder in the middle of a fairway at Sherwood Country Club and the second highlighted by one hole played in near-darkness and a flu-ridden Woods looking as green as the putting surfaces.

Woods wound up losing to Garcia and after that the one-on-one format was a goner, since Woods doesn’t like losing to anybody, no matter the circumstances. So the mixed-team, alternate-shot format was constructed, especially for Bighorn, where the framework of the event remains basically the same.

The two members of the winning team will divide $1.2 million and the losers $500,000 with a total of $300,000 going to charity.

Last year, the last four holes at Bighorn were lit by floodlights, but the 14th was not and that meant playing it was like hitting shots in somebody’s darkroom. Battle III is a month earlier this time and darkness isn’t expected to become an issue.

What passes for an issue this time is the timing of the event, at least for Sorenstam and Webb. The problem is that the top two women players in the world are playing a made-for-TV event in the Southern California desert on Monday night and then playing the British Open on Thursday morning in England.

Sorenstam and Webb leave tonight after the telecast and arrive in London Tuesday afternoon. They nod in unison and say they have no regrets about the scheduling.

“I feel like I will have many more British Opens to come,” Webb said. “So this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I was not going to let it pass me by.”

This is sound reasoning and it’s all about marketing the women’s game, especially when you consider that the rating for the Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major, was a measly 1.1.

The LPGA is also capitalizing on the event with new 30-second promotional spots featuring Sorenstam and Webb, using childhood snapshots with current photos. The campaign is called “Positively Amazing,” which is exactly what ABC hopes the ratings for Bighorn III look like.

Neither Sorenstam nor Webb have met Woods or Duval face-to-face, even though Sorenstam and Woods have the same agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG. Sorenstam said she isn’t worried about the lack of introductions.

“I think we will meet when we warm up an hour before,” she said.

Chances are that warming up won’t be much of a problem.

On the other hand, not hitting the fairways at the Canyons Course at Bighorn could very well be a problem, says Sorenstam, who is a member of the club and owns a home there.

“Once you miss the fairway, you will be up where the snakes and the cactus are,” she said.

Now that would be good television. Maybe it’s something to consider for Bighorn IV.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Battle at Bighorn

Who: Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam vs. David Duval and Karrie Webb

Format: Alternative shot mixed team

Where: Canyons Course at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert

Starting time: Today, 4:15 p.m.

TV: 5 p.m., Channel 7

Prize money: $1.7 million--$1.2 million to winning team, $500,000 to losing team