Verne Lundquist has seen plenty of golfers come around the back nine and shared his voice with those watching at home what he sees at Augusta National.

Lundquist covered his 40th Masters Tournament in 2024. He has been on the call for Jack Nicklaus’ putt on the 17th hole to help him win the 1986 Masters. 

He called Tiger Woods’ chip shot on the 16th hole in the 2005 Masters.

And on Sunday, Lundquist called his final Masters Tournament, ending it with a birdie putt at the 16 from Scottie Scheffler, who won his second career Masters. 

Lundquist has been steadily pulling back from broadcasting roles in recent years. He retired from covering college football games in 2016, 

ending with the Army-Navy game, then retired from college basketball before the start of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Lundquist remained calling the Masters through 2024, but his broadcasting career officially came to a close when the final golfers came around the back nine on Sunday.

There were several tributes for the legendary broadcaster, whose broadcasting career dates back to the 1960s, as he wrapped up his career on Sunday, including a hand-shake with a legend of the sport, a shared moment with another star CBS broadcaster and a tribute from The Masters.

Masters tribute video

The Masters posted a video tribute to Lundquist, highlighting some of his finest calls over the years with commentary from the legendary voice himself.

“Masters means just about everything professionally,” Lundquist says at the start of the video. “40 years from 1983 on, 25 years of sitting up in that tower on 16, watching the world go by.”

He discussed the career highlights from Woods’ and Nicklaus’ moments, to celebrating his anniversary with his wife, Nancy. 

“This is such a special place and I’ve had so many great moments here. I love everything about this event. It’s my favorite golf course ever and, again, just a lot of memories,” Lundquist says.

Tiger Woods handshake

Lundquist has had some memorable moments calling Woods’ time at the Masters, most notably the famous 2005 chip shot at No. 16 from Woods.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that call a couple times,” Woods said on Tuesday. “I mean, 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 it’s also — he describes it with emotionality. He just draws the audience in. It’s amazing. It’s, I think, his 40th year to be able to call the Masters. That’s what I grew up watching. I grew up listening to Verne. And he made a nice call there at 16, and it’s one that I’ve been lucky enough to — I will have that memory with Verne for the rest of my life.”

On Sunday, the two legends met on the green of the 16.

Following the hole, Woods could be seen approaching Lundquist and shaking his hand and stopping to exchange a few words. 

Jim Nantz call

Ending Lundquist’s broadcasting career was a sendoff from fellow CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz. 

Nantz has been the host of the Masters for 37 years, including the 2024 edition, and has overall spent 39 years covering the event at Augusta National.

Following Lundquist’s final call at the No. 16, Nantz signed off his colleague.

“Verne wrote a book back in 2018 called ‘Play by Play.’ And the last line in the book, that you wrote, Verne, I want to apply it to you. You said, ‘Thanks, to borrow a phrase, thanks for the memories.’ Your voice has been a beautiful instrument. Thank you for a wonderful soundtrack for all of our lives,” Nantz said.

Lundquist, ever the eloquent voice on the television set, simply replied: “Thank you so much, Jim. It’s my honor, my privilege.”

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Source: USA Today