Tiger Woods and Verne Lundquist will always share a connection at Augusta National. It was only appropriate that they shared a moment at Lundquist’s final Masters. At the 16th hole, where Woods made a memorable chip-in at the 2005 Masters on the way to his fourth of five green jackets, the golfer stopped to shake Lundquist’s hand and exchange a few words after tapping in for par. The 83-year-old Lundquist is retiring after calling the Masters for CBS for the 40th time.
His decision to step away has rekindled memories of his epic call of Woods’ chip-in nearly two decades ago, when Lundquist bellowed, “In your life have you seen anything like that?!” Early in Sunday’s broadcast, CBS’ Jim Nantz said, “We will be celebrating you as long as there is a Masters tournament. … You will always be a part of it. You have permanent residence here with that impressive resume of calls and moments. You all love you and we’re going to miss you.” Lundquist replied, “I thank you Jim, and thanks to all of you.” Fighting back tears, he said, “I’m going to get through this day without any emotion. Maybe.”
Woods finished the Masters on Sunday with a 16-over 304, his highest 72-hole score in a career that spans three decades. Woods’ previous high was 302 at the Memorial in 2015 following a career-worst 85 in the third round. He has failed to break 300 only one other time at the Masters: two years ago, when he shot 78-78 on the weekend and finished at 301.
All of that hardly mattered to the crowd.
The 48-year-old Woods, who is still dealing with the effects of numerous surgeries that have impacted his body and limited his playing time on the PGA Tour, received a huge roar from the crowd as he pitched close to the hole on No. 18 and made par.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
