Steamboat Springs resident Verne Lundquist does his best to keep emotions in check as his 40-year Masters broadcast run concludes; Scottie Scheffler makes it 2 titles in 3 years at Augusta National
By Gary Baines – 4/14/2024
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Verne Lundquist made a vow — sort of — at the beginning of Sunday’s CBS telecast of the final round of the Masters.
Responding to a brief tribute from CBS colleague Jim Nantz, Lundquist said on air, “Thank you, Jim. And thanks to all of you. You’re great friends. I’m going to get through this day without any emotion — maybe. Maybe. Yes sir.”
Added Nantz: “The question is, can we get through it?”
Lundquist, a Steamboat Springs resident since 1984, was part of the announcing crew for the Masters for the 40th time. And, as he announced earlier this year, it would also be his last. And given that Sunday marked the final round, keeping emotions in check wasn’t going to be easy.
“We will be celebrating you for as long as there is a Masters Tournament, Verne Lundquist,” Nantz said in their on-air exchange on Sunday. “You will always be a part of it. (You have) a permanent residence here with that impressive resumé of calls and moments. We all love you and we’re going to miss you.”
Indeed, Lundquist started working the Masters in 1983. And because he missed the tournament broadcasts in 1997 and ’98, this week was No. 40.
Quite a run, indeed.
There’s been many personal Masters memories over the years for the 83-year-old — as you might guess — but two stand out:
— One was his 2005 call of one of the most replayed shots in golf history, when Tiger Woods’ huge-breaking chip barely fell into the hole for a birdie. Who can forget the Nike swoosh on Woods’ ball being displayed so prominently just as the ball almost stopped before toppling into the cup? Woods went on to win his fourth Masters that year.
“Oh my goodness,” Lundquist said as the ball trickled toward the hole. “Oh wow! In your life have you seen anything like that?”
Woods was asked about that earlier this week at Augusta National.
“I’ve heard that call a couple times,” the now-five-time Masters champion said. “He has just an amazing ability to bring in the audience and describe a situation and just be able to narrate it in a way that is poetic but (he also) describes it with emotionality. He just draws the audience in.
“It’s amazing. … That’s what I grew up watching. I grew up listening to Verne. And he made a nice call there at 16, and I will have that memory with Verne for the rest of my life.”
Fittingly, in the midst of his round on Sunday, Woods shook Lundquist’s hand and exchanged a few words before moving on.
— The other most memorable Lundquist call came in 1986 as Jack Nicklaus made his run to a sixth Masters green jacket. On the 17th hole, Lundquist famously used the words “Yes Sir!” when Nicklaus lifted his putter to the sky upon sinking a birdie putt en route to his victory at age 46, which made him the oldest Masters winner.
In a 2011 interview with ColoradoGolf.org, Lundquist said the ’86 Masters was the favorite call he’s made in his multi-faceted broadcasting career. (He’s also known for calling college football, college basketball and the PGA Championship — though he’s stepped away from all of them at one point or another during the last eight years. Among his other past broadcast assignments include the NFL, NBA and the Olympics.)
“I could be self-deprecating to the point of sickness, but I’m proud of (the ‘Yes Sir!’),” said Lundquist, who coincidentally was born the same year as Nicklaus (1940). “It fit the moment. My favorite anecdote about it is Pat Haden (former NFL player, broadcaster and University of Southern California athletic director) told me about 15 years ago that when his regular golf group plays in L.A., and anyone sinks a long putt, inevitably they’ll yell ‘Yes Sir!’ That’s nice.”
All in all, to have handled the call of two of the most memorable moments for arguably the top two golfers of all time is quite a notable feat for Lundquist, a longtime fixture at the par-3 16th hole tower at Augusta National.
“An association with the Masters like this was totally unexpected for me,” the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Famer told ColoradoGolf.org 13 years ago. “With what Jack and Tiger have done there, I’ve got my name associated with the two greatest golfers ever.”
And with the Masters in general.
“You remember the history of this place,” Lundquist said on Sunday’s telecast. “Because of all the things I’ve done of which I’m most proud, to have a history with the Masters Tournament, nothing can compare.”
There wasn’t another unforgettable call at 16 on Sunday for Lundquist, just a typically solid one.
As the final group came to the green, he said, “Thrilled to be here, Jim. (It’s an) absolute thrill. I trust you’ll understand. I’m going to take a deep breath.”
Scottie Scheffler subsequently drained a birdie putt to take a four-stroke lead.
“The hour belongs to Scottie Scheffler,” Lundquist said. “A four-shot lead with two to play. There you are.”
Moments later, after the action moved to 17, Nantz intoned another concise tribute to Lundquist.
“Thanks for a wonderful soundtrack for all of our lives,” Nantz said.
“My honor,” Lundquist said, essentially signing off.
(Photo: Joel Marklund)
Make That 2 Masters Titles for Scheffler: Scottie Scheffler reinforced his status as the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world on Sunday by capturing the Masters title for the second time in three years. The Texan has won three times in his last four starts — the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the Masters — with a second place at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Scheffler pulled away on Amen Corner and wasn’t seriously threatened down the stretch, winning by four. He went 66-72-71-68 for an 11-under-par total. Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, are expecting their first child later this month.
Ludvig Åberg, bidding to become the first Masters rookie since 1979 to win the title, ended up solo second at 7 under after closing with a 69 that was only marred by a double bogey on No. 11. Collin Morikawa, who made two double bogeys in the middle of his round, shared third place at 4 under with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa.
Tiger Struggles on Weekend, But Completes a Rare Full 72-Hole Event: Tiger Woods may have finished last among the players who made the cut in the Masters — 60th place — but on the positive side there was this: It marked the first time since the Hero World Challenge in early December that he’s completed a 72-hole tournament.
The five-time Masters champ went 82-77 on the weekend and finished at 16-over-par 304, the highest total score of his PGA Tour career. Given the state of his body in the wake of his 2021 auto accident, playing four rounds on a hilly course like Augusta National is no small feat.
“It was a good week all around,” he said. “I think that coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately yesterday it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to. Today, the way that Tom (Kim, who shot 66) is playing I thought I had in my system. Unfortunately, I didn’t produce it.”
Woods’ son Charlie was on the range with Tiger prior to the round, even apparently helping with the practice session.
Woods, who this week set the record for consecutive Masters making the cut at 24, played his 100th Masters round on Sunday. He indicated that he has plans to play the next three majors: the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June and the British Open in July.
Tiger Pairing Adds to Big Week for Neal Shipley: Neal Shipley, the Ohio State golfer who parlayed his runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club into low-amateur honors at the Masters, added another memory to his week by being paired with Woods in the final round.
“You know, playing with Tiger Sunday at the Masters, the whole week, I think I have to win one of these things to kind of top this week,” Shipley said. “It’s definitely been a dream week, but I’m looking forward to being out here soon hopefully.”
Shipley found out about his pairing with Woods while doing some post-round 3 practice late Saturday afternoon, after Shipley had shot an 80.
“I got pretty excited, and that’s when the emotions turned around,” he said. “You know, today being out there with Tiger, we were chatting. We talked a lot about just golf, Charlie and just normal things. He’s such a normal guy and really cool. He was great to me all day. I couldn’t be more appreciative of him just being awesome today, and it was just really cool to be around him and just the attention he gets and the roars. The crowds were phenomenal.”
Shipley, who had wrapped up Masters low-am honors by being the only amateur to make the 36-hole cut, finished in 53rd place overall after rounds of fame 71-76-80-73.
Notable: For those into obscure Colorado golf trivia: Scheffler, the 2022 and ’24 Masters champion, competed in the inaugural TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes on the Korn Ferry Tour, finishing 29th in Berthoud in 2019. … A grand total of one eagle was made on the par-5 15th hole this week, and it came on Sunday from Grayson Murray. He hit his second shot from 226 yards to 19 feet and drained the putt.
For all the scores from the Masters, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com