As you’ve almost certainly heard, Verne Lundquist will complete his 40th and final Masters broadcast on Sunday, closing the book on one of the most iconic careers in sports journalism. Earlier this week, he ranked Jack Nicklaus’ green-jacket charge in 1986 and Tiger Woods electric chip-in in 2005 as the “1 and 1A” of his all-time call canon. So it was only fitting, after Woods sunk his par putt on the 16th hole—the site of Lundquist’s unforgettable “OH MY!” 19 years ago—that the five-time Masters winner made his way over to the CBS stalwart for one final handshake on Sunday. Cue the goosebumps.
Truly awesome stuff. This is what the Masters is all about. History. Tradition. Respect. There will be plenty more Verne-adjacent waterworks as the final groups come down the stretch on Sunday, but Lundquist and Woods’ history is uniquely intertwined. The legend of each is simply not the same without the other and to see them come together one last time is special.
Then there's crimson elephant in the room: We don’t how many of these Woods has left in him. Each and every swing is a battle for him. For now, he relishes the fight, but when he does decide to hang it up, we can only hope he’s shown as much reverence and respect as he showed Lundquist on Sunday.
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