Masters ratings worst since '93

No Tiger Woods. No Phil Mickelson. No drama.

All are potential reasons the television ratings for Saturday and Sunday of this year's Masters were the worst in more than two decades.

The average audience for the weekend coverage on CBS was 8.6 million viewers in 6.4 million homes, according to Nielsen ratings finalized Thursday morning. The last time the Masters had numbers that anemic was in 1993, when Bernhard Langer won by 4 strokes. That tournament was watched by 7.9 million viewers in 5.6 million homes.

Sunday's final round had the potential to feature the youngest winner in Masters history, with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth tied for the lead entering Sunday's action. But the youngster couldn't keep up with eventual champion Bubba Watson, who earned his second Masters title by 3 strokes.

It was the first time since 1994 that both Woods and Mickelson were missing from a Masters weekend. Woods didn't play after having surgery, and Mickelson missed the cut by 1 stroke.