It doesn’t matter that Tiger Woods is in dead last at The Masters field as of this writing after his round of five-over 77 on Sunday. The man can’t help but be iconic at every turn, and frankly, just seeing Tiger hang tough, make his 24th straight cut at Augusta National and make it through 72 holes given what his body and mind have been through is a collective sight for sore eyes.
We’ll get to El Tigre’s warmup session, his playing partner, and the stories behind those subplots in a bit. They only added to the fun of an otherwise forgettable Masters Sunday for Tiger, a five-time green jacket winner who’s more accustomed to being in the mix on these sorts of occasions.
All good things must come to an end, or so the saying goes, and that’s the case with legendary announcer Verne Lundquist. He’s calling his 40th and final Masters Tournament this week, and whether it was intentional or not, Verne had the cover of a tree to bid an on-course farewell to Tiger with a solid, instantly iconic handshake.
How about a wide shot of Verne watching Tiger in the Masters wilderness one last time?
Lundquist has been a part of so many iconic calls over the years, including Tiger’s biggest highlight when he chipped in for birdie at the 2005 Masters en route to victory.
Sometimes, the best move an announcer can make in the moment is to not say anything. Letting the roars from the gallery and the shot-making mastery on display do the talking can get the job done just as effectively. That’s what Lundquist did when Tiger almost aced the 16th on his way to his latest major triumph at Augusta in 2019. The surreal scene happened to costar Michael Phelps in the background.
I’d be remiss not to mention that after carding an 82 in the third round — who knows how much of that is him not being able to fire on all cylinders physically — Tiger enlisted the help of his son Charlie on the range. It wasn’t quite hugging him after 72 holes of arguably the most incredible major championship in history like back in ’19, but a great father-son moment nonetheless.
Speaking of the youngins, the only amateur in the Masters field to make the cut this week was Neal Shipley. Imagine being him for a second. Getting to strut around the course with Tiger and your high school pal as your caddie at the freaking Masters. See you later in Butler Cabin, Neal!
Shipley carded a fine round of even-par 72 on Sunday. Tiger made a triple bogey at the fifth hole and bogeyed the next, yet being the tireless competitor that he is, managed to grind his way to play only one over par the rest of the way. Couldn’t let Shipley get too far out in front I suppose.
Alright. That’s enough of that. Almost don’t want to acknowledge Mr. Lundquist is done by submitting this. It’ll be too real!
Thanks for the memories, Verne (and Tiger, though I hope you have a few more good Masters left in you, GOAT). Of course I gotta play you out with the ’05 chip-in and The Masters’ official Lundquist tribute.
