The U.S. Golf Association held a half-price sale in its U.S. Open merchandise pavilion yesterday at Torrey Pines, and nearly 5,000 people came to shop. There was a line of more than 500 when the doors opened just before 11 a.m.

Mary Lopuszynski, the USGA's merchandise coordinator, said she started the Open with enough merchandise to fill 24 tractor trailers, about 600,000 items, and nearly all of it was gone. She said the Open at Torrey Pines set records for gross sales revenues, which she did not disclose.

“It was fantastic,” she said of the week. “People were excited. And the volunteer base was far better than in any city we've been to. They showed up and they worked enthusiastically.”

TV ratings

Given that Tiger Woods was participating in his first U.S. Open playoff, it should come as no surprise that Monday's telecast of the 19-hole duel at Torrey Pines produced high ratings for ESPN and NBC.

ESPN, which carried the first two hours of the NBC production, reported a 4.2 national rating, making it the most-watched golf telecast ever on cable TV. The rating in San Diego County was 9.4.

NBC's 2¾-hour broadcast averaged a 7.6 overnight rating, the highest Monday golf rating since the 1978 Phoenix Open (7.7) and a 90 percent increase over the last Open playoff in 2001 (4.0). The rating in San Diego was 11.5 with a 31 share, meaning nearly one-third of the TV sets in use during that time were tuned to the golf.

NBC also announced the final rating for Sunday's fourth round was 7.5, the best since 2002 (the last time Woods won). NBC's 10.0 prime-time rating from 7-9 p.m. EDT was the best in that time period for any network since the Academy Awards. By comparison, the NBA Finals on Sunday night averaged a 9.0 rating from 9-11 p.m. EDT.