Masters opening round earns 5-year high TV rating

The opening round of the Masters earned ESPN the largest audience and highest rating for the tournament's first round since the record-setting 2010 telecast, according to Nielsen Media fast national data released by the network.

The telecast earned a 2.2 rating and averaged 3.218 million viewers, well above last year's 1.5 rating and average audience of 2.006 million.

The 2010 edition earned a 3.4 rating and averaged 4.936 million viewers for the first-round telecast - the second-largest golf audience ever on cable.