No doubt it was one of those moments in time where you always will remember “where you were when” Tiger Woods won the Masters in 19’ completing his comeback after an 11-year hiatus from the PGA majors winner circle, the longest such streak in PGA history. The win at Augusta National completes a circle of life that began in 1997, 22 years after his first Masters win and his first since 2005. Being able to celebrate with his son and daughter the way he was with his later father Earl back in 97’ was in his words “one of the most memorable of his life” but as rewarding as being awarded the green jacket was for Tiger Woods by the end of the weekend it was clear that he would not be the only winner this weekend.

I was one of many that had no compunction admitting that if Tiger wasn’t in contention over the weekend I wouldn’t have been watching. However, the fact that he was made it must see TV for millions of viewers and the ratings reflected that with a 7.7 household rating that was the highest overnight rating for a morning golf telecast since they began tracking ratings 34 years ago. Even the encore presentation which ran directly after the live broadcast primarily for those on the West coast, earned a 3.4/8 rating/share, the third-highest rated golf broadcast-to-date on any network this year behind only the live third-round and final-round of the Masters in the metered markets. Needless to say, CBS and their advertisers were also big winners this year.

The behemoth just got a little bigger as Nike was also a huge winner after the Masters Final Round and rightfully so as it has stuck with Tiger through thick n’ think over the past decade where Tiger Woods was in the elite class of endorsement properties, the “Mount Rushmore” if you will, along with LeBron, Ronaldo, and Roger Federer, but had fallen from that exclusive top tier class although still very respectable. Now Nike has the pole position and more importantly the loyalty of the hottest property in the ad market despite his polarizing off the course past and more recently injuries that have preventing him from playing in most of the top tournaments. They were handsomely rewarded over the two days following the conclusion the Masters with just over a 1.24 billion dollar increase in their stocks overall market value.

Lastly, perhaps the most gracious winner to piggy-back on Tiger’s was the man who bet $85k on Tiger to win the Masters at 14-1 odds, a cool rake of 1.19 million. Based on reports it was not only the first bet ever placed by the specific customer at William Hill Sportsbook but it was also the largest single golf wager in the history of the United States, and William Hill’s biggest loss ever. There was also another “high five-figure” loss at the Westgate in Vegas but cooler heads prevailed online where Matthew Primeaux, Senior VP of Strategy and Operations for BetStars.com, said his book had discussed allowing betters to place $100 wagers on Tiger at 100-1 but later decided to cap the bets at $10. He was quoted as saying “guys, there’s no way he’s (Tiger) is winning this tournament”. Well, opinions vary.