2024 Masters: beloved CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist set for “emotional” goodbye

CBS Sports broadcaster Verne Lundquist sits on the 16th hole at Augusta National. | Rusty Jarrett/Augusta National

One of the most beloved and treasured broadcasters in all of sports will hang it up after this year’s Masters.

Think of all the legends who have walked the pristine fairways of Augusta National.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player should come to mind. Maybe Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, or Ben Hogan do, too. For younger audiences, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson definitely do.

At any rate, another legend belongs among that group, not for his playing contributions but for his distinguished excellence as a broadcaster.

That would be Verne Lundquist, the beloved CBS announcer who will retire after the 2024 Masters.

“I keep hearing Verne say that it’s going to be emotional. It’s going to be emotional for all of us,” Jim Nantz said during a recent call with the media.

“I hate to see him go from the broadcast.”

Don’t we all, Jim.

“[CBS Sports Chairman] Sean [McManus] and I had a conversation a couple of years ago about when the proper time would be to exit stage left, and he and I agreed that 40 had a nice round feel to it,” Lundquist noted.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The 16th green at Augusta National.

“And that we would exit from the Masters and from golf and from CBS at the end of the second week in April this year. It will be emotional.”

Lundquist made his first trip to Augusta in the spring of 1983, when Seve Ballesteros won his second green jacket. Interestingly, that tournament marked the last time The Masters concluded on Monday, as heavy rains dampened the course during Friday’s second round.

Ever since, the tournament has finished on a Sunday, with ‘Uncle Verne’ using his distinct, beautiful tone to illuminate the greatest moments in Masters history.

The Best Calls in Masters History

Lundquist’s self-described best call came in 1986, when Jack Nicklaus made a back-nine charge en route to his sixth green jacket that will live in Masters lore forever.

During that Masters, Lundquist was stationed on the par-4 17th hole, while Nantz, who now serves as host, sat in the tower at 16. The 1986 edition marked Nantz’s first trip to Augusta.

“[Nicklaus] started the day four shots back of Seve [Ballesteros], and I just remember him having a magical second nine. It began with birdies at 9, 10, and 11,” Lundquist recalled.

“When Jack got to 17, Jim Nantz had a great call the hole before, and I think the story is that when Jack hit his tee shot on 16, [his caddy and son] Jack II said, ‘Be good,’ and the elder Jack said, ‘It is.’ The ball almost went into the hole, and Jim said, ‘The Bear has come out of hibernation.’

Augusta National Golf Club
Jack Nicklaus raises his putter after making birdie at 17 during the final round of the 1986 Masters.

“Well, when Jack stood on 17 tee, Seve had dumped it into the water on 15 and double-bogeyed, and all of a sudden, Jack was tied for the lead. He pulled his tee shot and was over near the 7th green, and he hit a pitching wedge to about 18 feet above the hole. And I remember thinking to myself as he walked up… keep it simple and get your butt out of the way.”

Lundquist did just that.

Nicklaus holed the birdie putt at 17, giving himself the lead at 9-under, which elicited Lundquist to say, “YES, SIR!”

That moment will continue to live on for as long as golfers play at Augusta National. But so, too, will the call that Lundquist made 19 years later.

Late in the final round at the 2005 Masters, Tiger Woods faced a difficult chip shot on the 16th hole.

This tricky par-3, known as Redbud, features a putting surface that slopes severely from right to left towards the pond situated to the left of the green. As such, Woods had no choice but to play his shot to the top of the slope and let gravity take his ball towards the ball.

Easier said than done, however.

Still, Woods pulled off the miracle shot. His ball trickled down the hill and barely fell into the hole, giving him an improbable birdie at the most opportune time.

But Lundquist’s call was just as good as the shot.

“Well. Here it comes,” Lundquist said as Woods’ ball approached the pinnacle of the green.

Then, as the ball caromed down the slope and towards the hole, Lundquist uttered, “Oh my goodness.”

It was getting closer and closer, but Lundquist quickly and brilliantly jumped out of the way. He let the camera hone in on the ball as it trickled into the hole. That elicited Lundquist to cry out and ask, “Oh wow! In your life, have you seen anything like that?”

Brilliant.

Because nobody had—or ever will see—anything like that again.

“They are one-a and one-b,” Lundquist said when asked which call he likes better.

“I lean towards Jack Nicklaus in ‘86. Probably more so because of the fact that Jack is six months older than me, and I tend to remind him every chance that I get.

“I think because I know Jack so much better than I do Tiger. By the way, I am going to wait to see Tiger at the end of the Champions Dinner on Tuesday because I want to say goodbye to him and thank him, and the same with Jack. Those two guys have had a terrific impact on my professional career, and I am deeply grateful to them both.”

A Special Tradition

Those who visit Augusta National every year seem to have their own personal traditions. Nantz takes a walk over to Amen Corner early Sunday and reminds himself of how grateful he is for the opportunity to narrate golf’s greatest event.

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt walks over to the 8th green on the Par 3 course—his favorite spot on the property—before play begins each morning and does the same.

Lundquist has a unique tradition, too.

Every year, on Tuesday, ‘Uncle Verne’ hops into his golf cart that Augusta National provides to each broadcaster and production crew member.

He traverses the course backward. He begins his journey by going down the 18th fairway, which is as steep of a hill as you will find on any golf course in the world. He then makes his way down 17, to 16, up 15, through Amen Corner, and so on.

This ride not only allows Lundquist to re-familiarize himself with the property, but it also brings back a flood of positive memories.

But Lundquist has another tradition, which involves the 16th hole.

“Another tradition I had for years and years and years is that I would climb the tower on 16, and Bob Wishnie was the cameraman—he’s now retired—but Bob and I would sit there on Wednesday while the Par 3 contest was going on, and we would chat,” Lundquist reminisced.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Another view of the 16th hole at Augusta National.

“And that was also a way for me to get reacquainted with everything about the golf course.”

Unfortunately for Lundquist, he revealed that he has had a few back surgeries in recent years, so climbing the tower has become “less feasible” for him. But he said he may try to get up there.

The legendary broadcaster then shared another story related to that from last year’s Masters.

“So I was sitting in my cart beside the 16th green, off in the trees. There is a security guard named Bob, and he is a fella from Boston,” Lundquist said.

“And I told him then, that my ambition for my last Masters was to climb back into the tower and finish it where I can see everything from up there. And Bob said, in that distinct Boston accent, “Little buddy, if you climb up there, I am going to guarantee you that you will fall down.’ So I don’t think that will happen, but I certainly have thoughts.”

Perhaps Lundquist can ascend to the tower one last time, but even if he does not, he will always be one of the top broadcasters American sports has ever seen.

Thank You, Verne

Lundquist helped provide the soundtrack to the Masters for more than four decades, creating lasting memories that will resonate with golf fans forever.

But the man who attended Texas Lutheran University is so much more than a broadcaster. He is a mentor, a friend, a gentleman. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of knowing or chatting with ‘Uncle Verne’ is well aware of his generosity, integrity, and gracious humility.

Look no further than when Nantz first arrived at CBS in the mid-1980s.

“We were assigned to a Christmas day football game in 1985—a game that no longer exists, an All-Star game called the Blue-Gray game—and I was in my mid-20s and finding myself working a show with Verne Lundquist. That was big—really big—and I am nervous about it,” Nantz recalled.

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Jim Nantz.

“The night before the game, on Christmas Eve, Verne and [his wife] Nancy invited me to join them for dinner. And that was very special. In a lot of ways, that showed me what the CBS culture was about—how you act as a teammate. I had been in the studio that fall, hosting the Prudential College Football Scoreboard show, and that might have been my first road trip. In fact, I am sure it was. So, Verne, unknowingly, was mentoring me back then on how to be inclusive, kind, and caring and treat people like family. It meant a lot.”

Lundquist is beloved outside of the golf world, too.

When he said goodbye to the SEC on CBS during the fall of 2016, every college campus he visited honored him. Gary Danielson, his longtime broadcast partner for the SEC, has long admired him, too.

Everyone in sports broadcasting, from those in production to the teams playing on the field, the golfers on the course, and the fans watching at home, has marveled at Lundquist’s uncanny ability to provide the perfect anecdotes to sport’s biggest moments.

That includes Nantz, his esteemed CBS colleague who has ascended to the top of the sports broadcasting world.

“His calls are truly legendary. And there is something to be said, Augusta is a place that comes to life every April. It’s not just because it’s a gathering of the greatest players in the world, and there is a golf competition. It’s a week where history and voices, they come back. We hear them again. We still kind of feel and have at the front of our minds the legends of yesteryear. The Gene Sarazens, they make an earthly visit every year in April. Byron, Ben, Sam, and, of course, Arnold, there is one week a year when they come back into our lives and are back on our planet. That’s the week,” Nantz explained.

“What I am saying here is, Verne is always going to have a home at Augusta. He is going to be a part of Augusta forever. Those calls that he has made, those are going to be played back 50, 100, and 200 years from now. He’s going to have a home there. He has permanent residence. I am just really appreciative. I don’t quite know exactly how I am saying my goodbyes there at Augusta, but I will figure it out. It’s a heavy week for us. Of course, we will cover this golf tournament, and we will be on top of our games, it’s an amazing thing leading into it. I am excited going into it, but at the front of my mind for me is to do this one last time with Verne.”

Thank you, Verne, for the memories that will last forever.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.