The question seems to pop up every year around the Masters golf tournament: Who was the CBS sportscaster who was banned from covering golf’s marquee event?
The answer is (now former) CBS golf analyst Gary McCord, who worked as a golf commentator for CBS for 33 years.
Known for his outspoken demeanor and curly handlebar mustache, McCord was barred from covering the yearly event at Augusta National over comments he made on a broadcast way back in 1994.
Here’s the tale of the tape, as told by a 2013 article by USA TODAY Sports:
In case you missed his offending remarks at the 1994 Masters, they went like this: Augusta’s 17th green was so fast it could have been “bikini-waxed,” while things were even worse for players whose approach shots went behind that green — then they’d be stuck out with the “body bags.”
Though it hasn’t explicitly been confirmed that those off-color comments are the reason McCord wasn’t welcomed back, it didn’t appear as though the broadcast veteran had any hard feelings about the decision.
McCord has never definitively heard how the ban came about — or even if it was really based on the bikini and bag comments. “I don’t know, I really don’t,” he says. “And Augusta really doesn’t have to explain. It could be, ‘We don’t like him, he’s out.’ It’s their tournament. And I agree with everything they’ve done.”
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According to an archived article from The Denver Post, the rationale was that McCord got “banned from announcing the Masters because the Augusta National hierarchy still hasn’t quite warmed up to his irreverent humor.”
And while McCord didn’t disagree with Augusta’s decision to ban him, he was somewhat puzzled by a separate but related decision, per USA TODAY Sports’ piece:
“I still can’t believe David Feherty is still there,” McCord said with a laugh.
Feherty, another controversial (now former) CBS golf analyst known for his humor, sarcasm and outspokenness, worked the Masters tournament for 19 years. He parted ways with CBS back in 2015.
Though Feherty was permitted to cover the event at Augusta National, unlike McCord, he spoke candidly about the fit between his personality and the tournament, per a 2018 piece from the Desert Sun.
“It’s such a different event,” Feherty said. “To be honest with you, I never felt comfortable there.”
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