Legendary sports broadcaster Verne Lundquist has announced he will retire after calling his 40th Masters Tournament this April.
CBS announced Wednesday that Lundquist, 83, will make his final call with the network after an illustrious broadcast career spanning more than five decades. From Jack Nicklaus' "Yes sir!" birdie in the 1986 Masters, to Tiger Woods' climactic chip-in birdie in the final round of the same tournament in 2005, Lundquist has been on the mic for some of the most dramatic moments in golf and sports history.
Yes Sir!
As Verne Lundquist gets set to call his 40th Masters on CBS in April, he has announced that it will be his final Masters for the Network. pic.twitter.com/y9VxlliQKJ
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) February 14, 2024
Born on July 17, 1940, in Duluth, Minnesota, Lundquist's iconic broadcast journey began more than half a century ago. After graduating from Texas Lutheran University in 1962, he got his first role as a sports anchor at WFAA in Fort Worth, Texas. From there, he went on to become the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys before blossoming into a nationally-recognized talent with stints at ABC Sports, TNT, and CBS.
Lundquist has covered everything from the NFL, NBA, and Olympics, to even a game show called "Bowling for Dollars." However, many of Lundquist's most memorable calls have come from the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, where he took the mic for the first time in 1983.
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The 15-time major champion has not played competitive professional golf since withdrawing from the Masters in April to have ankle surgery.
One call in particular came in 2005 during the final round of the tournament, when golf legend Tiger Woods hit arguably one of the most memorable shots of his entire career. Woods found his ball buried in the rough off the green on hole No. 16.
From where it was situated, some speculated it would be a success for Woods to simply get the ball anywhere close to the hole. But he hit a perfect shot.
"Oh my goodness," Lundquist said as the ball came slowly trickling down the slope of the green, stopping on the brim of the cup before the crowd's roar crescendoed and it finally dropped in.
"Oh wow!" Lundquist shouted into the mic before pausing to allow the cheers to tell the story."In your life, have you seen anything like that?"
It was one of several calls from Lindquist that have gone down in sports history, with his words and voice becoming just as legendary as the scenes he described. Now, Lundquist will have the chance to call Woods one last time in April, before marking the end to a remarkable broadcast career for CBS at Augusta National.
