Verne Lundquist Lifts Lid On Emotional Masters Farewell With Tiger Woods
Verne Lundquist Lifts Lid On Emotional Masters Farewell With Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods shared a poignant moment with the legendary broadcaster beside the 16th green in the final round at Augusta
Legendary golf broadcaster, Verne Lundquist, has lifted the lid on his poignant interaction with Tiger Woods during the final round of the 2024 Masters, including the moment he will “treasure forever”.
After four decades behind the mic at the Augusta National Major, Lundquist called time on his career at the 2024 tournament.
The American has been the soundtrack to some of the tournament’s most famous moments, including his iconic “in your life” call when Woods chipped in from the back of the 16th green during the 2005 Masters.
Now, 19 years later, the pair shared an emotional moment on the same hole when Woods stopped by during his round on Sunday to shake Lundquist’s hand and wish him well in retirement.
The moment, captured by ESPN cameras, was one of the feel-good moments from the tournament, with the 83-year-old now discussing the interaction on an edition of The Steam Room podcast.
“I ventured down to 16 and he was playing 14 at the time and he was having a horrible day. Five over and wound up dead last in the tournament,” Lundquist said.
“But even though he was five over, he walked off the green at 16 and as he approached, I just said, ‘Tiger, thank you.’ He reached over and shook my hand and we chatted.
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“In all candor, I can’t remember what we said, except I thanked him for the kind words that he had, and he said, ‘We’re gonna be tied at the hip forever’ because of that shot and because of what I said.”
Tiger Woods took a moment during his round to share a handshake with longtime broadcaster Verne Lundquist ❤️ Lundquist will be retiring from his coverage at the Masters after this year’s tournament. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/J8fZKxv8VaApril 14, 2024
“The thing I most treasure about it,” Lundquist continued. “He went over and teed off at 17, I was still standing under the tree. And as he walked down the 17th fairway, he just looked over and gave me a thumbs up. I will treasure that forever.”
Speaking prior to the tournament, Woods paid tribute to Lundquist’s career, including that iconic call. He said: “Yeah, I’ve heard that call a couple times. He has just an amazing ability to bring in the audience and describe a situation and just be able to narrate it in a way that is poetic but it’s also – he describes it with emotionality.
“He just draws the audience in. It’s amazing. It’s, I think, his 40th year, I think it is now, 39th, 40th year, to be able to call the Masters. That’s what I grew up watching. I grew up listening to Verne. And he made a nice call there at 16, and it’s one that I’ve been lucky enough to – I will have that memory with Verne for the rest of my life.”
Ben joined Golf Monthly having completed his NCTJ in multimedia sports journalism at News Associates, London. He is now a freelance journalist who also works for The Independent, Metro, UEFA and Stats Perform.
