Rory McIlroy’s nail-biting victory at the Masters golf tournament attracted an average of 12.7 million viewers on Sunday, according to CBS, which broadcast the tournament’s final two rounds.

The audience grew by 33% from last year, when Scottie Scheffler cruised to a four-stroke win and earned his second green jacket in three years, CBS said on X. It was the most-watched Masters since 2018, according to the network, the broadcast division of Paramount Global.

McIlroy’s road to his first Masters title was dramatic and likely gave a much-needed boost to the tournament’s ratings. The first round, which aired on ESPN on Thursday, had an average of 2.3 million viewers, down 28% from a year ago, while the second round, which ESPN showed on Friday, drew an average of 3.1 million viewers, a 14% decline.

Over the course of the weekend, McIlroy squandered multiple leads, bringing back memories of his fumble in the 2011 Masters, when he led for three straight days but finished in 15th place.

But the Northern Irish golfer made remarkable comebacks as well. After narrowly missing a 1.5-meter putt on the final hole that would have given him the victory, McIlroy won a sudden-death playoff against English golfer Justin Rose. The win was McIlroy’s first major victory in 11 years and made him only the sixth golfer to claim a career Grand Slam, which includes winning the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, also known as the British Open.

"There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders,” McIlroy said after the tournament while wearing his new green Masters jacket. "But I didn’t make it easy today. I certainly didn’t make it easy. I was nervous.”