Tiger Woods tees off at 10:45 a.m. ET on Thursday. That means he will be nearly done with his round when ESPN comes on the air at 3 p.m. ET.
Here’s another “tradition unlike any other”: Complaining about the lack of Masters TV coverage.
While all the others major golf tournaments receive virtually sun-up-to-sun-down telecasts, the Masters, the one event we want to watch the most, continues to dish out the smallest portions in the game.
My complaint is more about Thursday and Friday than the weekend. At least on Saturday and Sunday, there is 18-hole coverage of the leaders. During the final round, CBS comes on at 2 p.m. ET, almost an hour before the last group tees off.
What tests the patience level are the first two rounds. To make fans wait until mid-afternoon to see play from Augusta National is ridiculous. You miss virtually the entire wave of morning pairings.
When Billy Payne took over as chairman, he initially relaxed some of the club’s antiquated notions about limiting TV coverage. He expanded the weekends to track all 18 holes with the leaders. ESPN is televising the Par 3 contest today. There’s live coverage of holes and groups on Masters.com.
This year, CBS Sports Network will have On The Range shows from 11 a.m-1 p.m. ET during the four days of the tournament. A new addition to the menu.
Yet I thought Payne would do more. The add-ons are nothing but morsels. Golf fans want more. We’d watch pre-dawn coverage of the course superintendent’s crew cutting the grass at Augusta National.
I mean, why show viewers On The Range programs on tournament days when you have actual play occurring on the course? What happens if one of the morning players comes to 18 with a chance to break the course record during the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. window? Would CBS Sports Network be able to show it?
I asked CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus if he saw any upcoming increases in live Masters coverage. As you would expect, he was diplomatic, saying CBS is “satisfied with the level of coverage” on the weekend.
That’s corporate speak. I know McManus and ESPN president John Skipper, behind the scenes, are pushing for more coverage. Gently pushing, because that’s the way things are done at Augusta.
Ultimately, it is up to the chairman to make the call. C’mon Billy, it’s 2013. There’s cable TV. It’s time to give us what we want: All day coverage of the Masters.
Is there any change on the horizon?
It’s 2013 Augusta! We should see your whole tournament
I’m so bored with the talking heads the time thinking about heading out to Home Depot instead. Come on, it is time to show the full tournament. Pay-per-view if you must!
These are the same Neanderthals who present the winning trophy inside of a tiny cabin instead of out at the 18th hole in front of thousands of adoring (and paying) golf fans.
As a viewer viewer in Dubai interested in world players, the CBS coverage was a joke , we see endless Freddie (god bless him) but not Westie or Muguel who were actually playing good golf !!!!! Completely biased .