Tag: The Masters

Jim Nantz absolutely nailed calling Jon Rahm’s final putt at the Masters

Of course Jim Nantz absolutely nailed the call on Jon Rahm’s final putt to win the Masters.

Golfer Jon Rahm won his first green jacket on Sunday as he topped the field at the 2023 Masters Tournament.

Rahm became the fourth golfer from Spain to win the tournament and shot an impressive 12-under par score.

As he’s wont to do, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz gave Rahm’s major victory the perfect call as he set the stage on the final putt with a little drama right before the ball went into the hole.

Nantz punctuated the call with a celebratory announcement that Rahm had won the tournament. You always figure that Nantz will nail the call, but this one was especially sweet as he called it less than a week after his emotional farewell to the men’s NCAA tournament.

Nantz is one of the best sports broadcasters of all time, and he really gave the final putt the gravitas it needed as Rahm celebrated his first career Masters win.

Jon Rahm shared an emotional moment with Jose María Olazábal after becoming the newest Masters champion from Spain

With Jon Rahm winning the Masters, how many other golfers from Spain have won a green jacket?

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm walked away with the green jacket at this year’s Masters Tournament, and he shared an awesome moment with fellow Spaniard Jose María Olazábal after his win.

The moment makes you wonder, how many fellow golfers from Spain have won the Masters?

In the history of the tournament, Rahm joins Spanish golfers Sergio García (2017), Seve Ballesteros (1980, 1983) and Olazábal (1994, 1999) as the fourth person from Spain to win the Masters.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

Rahm’s win is the sixth for the country, as Olazábal and Ballesteros own two green jackets a piece. Spain now passes South Africa as the second-most awarded country at The Masters behind the United States with those six victories.

Rahm closed his Masters run with an impressive 12-under par.

With the Masters victory, Rahm is now halfway to a career Grand Slam as he won the U.S. Open in 2021. He tied for fourth in the PGA Tournament in 2018 and tied for third at The Open in 2021.

As Rahm tries to join golfing history with those two victories, he’ll be able to claim history as only the fourth golfer from his home country to win a green jacket at Augusta.

It’s almost as if Rahm’s win was destined to happen as Sunday was the late Ballesteros’ birthday.

 

Everyone was so annoyed with Patrick Cantlay’s embarrassingly slow play at the Masters

He was playing disgracefully slow.

Brooks Koepka’s collapse in the final round of the Masters will have many fans looking at LIV Golf’s 54-hole “tournaments” as a key factor. But the golfer one hole ahead of the Koepka-Jon Rahm pairing may have played a part as well.

Yes, I’m talking about Patrick Cantlay.

Cantlay went into Sunday’s final round squarely in the hunt at 6-under par, but as his day unraveled in the final round, Cantlay seemed to play slower increasingly slower with each hole. That slow place impacted Rahm and Koepka’s approach on the course as they were stuck waiting at tee boxes for Cantlay.

And it wasn’t just Rahm and Koepka who had enough of Cantlay’s snail-like play. His round partner on the day, Viktor Hovland, stopped waiting for Cantlay, sending not-so-subtle messages about speeding things up.

Golf fans were also furious with Cantlay whose actions made the viewing experience seem painfully slow.

MORE: Photos of Jon Rahm and his family celebrating the Masters win

12 best photos from the Masters’ rain-soaked weekend

So. Much. Rain.

The weather at Augusta National for the 2023 Masters this weekend has been absolutely horrendous. The tournament has been paused multiple times because of weather, which also knocked a couple giant trees down Friday on the course.

And for Saturday’s third round, the weather lived up to its 100 percent chance of rain forecast. In fact, the weather was so intense that the third round was suspended for the rest of the day a little after 3 p.m. ET — minutes after CBS began broadcasting the action on network TV.

It was wet, soggy, cold and just generally unpleasant, but it made for some entertaining photos. So here are 12 rainy photos from the 2023 Masters weekend.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

Golf fans were furious they couldn’t watch Masters leaders on TV during third round at Augusta

Golf fans were MAD.

A lot of golf fans were far from happy Saturday for the third round of the 2023 Masters. It wasn’t because of controversy over who made the cut, and it wasn’t about the treacherous weather wreaking havoc on the course.

No, it was because Saturday afternoon, the two golfers at the top of the leaderboard, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, were nowhere to be found on national network TV.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

CBS is the primary broadcaster for the Masters this weekend, like usual, but the network’s TV coverage didn’t begin until 3 p.m. ET, as the Masters’ site notes. The CBS Sports App was streaming live from Augusta National and offered a variety of options, including live looks at featured groups.

Those featured groups included big-name players like Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and reigning Masters champ Scottie Scheffler. Absent were the leaders, and seemingly the only way to watch Koepka and Rahm play live was through the Masters app or site.

So sure, if you wanted to watch the leaders Saturday, you had options — even if they were limited. But sports fans everywhere are used to using apps and streaming live action, so asking them to take the extra step of going through the Masters app is hardly an outrageous request.

And a happy yet unfound middle ground could have been the CBS Sports App streaming the leaders, showing Augusta and the leaders as much as possible while not disrupting scheduled TV programming nor pushing people to figure out the Masters app.

Still, some golf fans weren’t happy the Masters wasn’t on network television the entire day Saturday.

Has Tiger Woods ever missed the cut at The Masters?

Could Tiger Woods make history by missing the cut at this year’s Masters?

Golfer Tiger Woods has had one of the most illustrious careers of anyone in the sport when it comes to The Masters.

However, has he ever missed the cut to advance to the weekend at the famed tournament?

In 1996, an amateur Woods missed the cut after the opening rounds of the tournament. However, he roared back in 1997 and won his very first green jacket by 12 strokes.

If Woods misses the cut at this year’s Masters, it’ll be the first time in his pro career he hasn’t made it to the weekend in Augusta, Georgia.

The golfer entered the tournament with +150 odds to miss the cut. Betters seemed very eager to put money on that very situation happening.

Woods finished his first 18 holes on Thursday going 2-over par and tied for 49th in the overall rankings.

We’ll see if Woods is able to jump up the rankings or if he’s going to leave what may be his last Masters ever the same way he started.

Amateur golfer Sam Bennett is using tattooed inspiration from his late dad to guide his historic Masters

Amateur golfer Sam Bennett is using tattooed inspiration from his late father to fuel him at The Masters.

Golfer Sam Bennett found a moving source of inspiration for his first-ever round at The Masters.

Bennett tied a record on Thursday for the lowest first nine by an amateur golfer in Masters history by avoiding any bogeys and shooting 4-under par.

In fact, it’s the best Masters round for someone of his amateur level in the past couple of decades.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times

The Texas A&M senior is being guided by some advice his late father gave him. That bit of wisdom, “don’t wait to do something,” is tattooed on the golfer’s arm.

Bennett is inspiring amateur golfers across the world, as he’s currently tied for sixth after the first round of this year’s Masters.

“I was ready to show people this little unorthodox swing from Madisonville is [going to] pound some people in match play,” Bennett said about being ready to take on the golfing world, per Golf Channel.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times

Bennett is a U.S. Amateur Champion, and now he’s right in the thick of it on the golfing world’s biggest stage at The Masters.

He’s got quite a source of inspiration to draw from as he takes on golf’s giants in Augusta, Georgia.

Has Rory McIlroy ever won The Masters?

Has Rory McIlroy ever won The Masters?

With The Masters getting underway for its 2023 edition, it’s worth asking if world-class golfer Rory McIlroy has ever won a green jacket.

As surprising as it may be, McIlroy has never actually won The Masters in his decorated career as a professional golfer.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times

McIlroy is still chasing a tournament win in Augusta, Georgia, one that would give him a Grand Slam for his career.

He’d be only the sixth golfer of the Masters era to accomplish winning the big four tournaments: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open and the PGA.

The other five are Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.

McIlroy finished second at the 2022 Masters behind Scottie Scheffler.

Talking with ESPN, McIlroy said that last year’s second-place Masters finish gave him hope that he’d one day sport the green jacket and cap the career tournament sweep.

“The only thing that I can say is that I proved to myself that I could do it,” McIlroy said. “As much as I didn’t really get into contention, there was a part of me on that back nine last year that felt that I had a chance, and to play the way I did and to eagle 13 and to have those feelings, in my mind, anyway, I felt like it was a breakthrough.”

We’ll see if this is the year for McIlroy as he competes in the 2023 Masters Tournament.

Rory McIlroy was mic’d up during the Masters and gave a glimpse inside the ropes at Augusta

Rory McIlroy wore a mic during his first round at The Masters, and it was as awesome as you’d expect.

Coverage of this year’s Masters Tournament included a fascinating wrinkle that gave viewers a very intimate look at two of the world’s best golfers.

The CBS feed of The Masters’ first day of its 2023 edition featured golfer Rory McIlroy mic’d up, talking folks at home through his day at the tournament.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times

It’s not common that you can really get into the mind of an athlete while they’re performing at their craft, but that’s exactly what McIlroy has provided viewers for this year’s Masters.

Check out McIlroy carefully walking us through his shot approach on hole No. 9 on the day’s round below.

It’s just too neat to get that kind of insight in real time from one of the world’s best golfers in the game.

Golfer Max Homa also wore a mic during his round of play at Thursday’s Masters Tournament, and he had a hilarious answer on what it was like to wear one while competing.

Coverage of The Masters has been pretty consistent over the years, so this was a welcomed change of pace as the biggest tournament in golf got underway on Thursday.

14 best photos of Tiger Woods’ first day at the 2023 Masters Tournament

See the best photos of Tiger Woods’ first day at the 2023 Masters Tournament.

Tiger Woods has completed his first day at this year’s Masters Tournament.

In his 25th appearance at the historic golfing event in Augusta, Georgia, Woods finished his first 18 holes for the day tied for 54th in the standings and shooting a 2-over par.

While the five-time green jacket winner was a longshot coming into Thursday’s competition to contend for another Masters, he scored three birdies on the afternoon.

However, five bogies hindered his efforts to really stand out in the crowded field.

With Woods hinting that this could be his last Masters run, let’s take a look at some of the best photos of the golfer in action on Thursday.