Did Jim Nantz take a subtle dig at LIV Golf’s TV partner?
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There’s very little legendary CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz says without intention.
That’s what makes his comment during the early Sunday morning third-round broadcast of the Masters all the more interesting.
Let’s set the stage here because it was a moment you might have missed had you gotten up to make yourself some eggs to start your day.
Brooks Koepka, a LIV golfer, was and is still leading the tournament. As he played the par-5 15th in the third round, he had a two-shot lead over Jon Rahm, who is loyal to and one of the most outspoken supporters of the PGA Tour.
Koepka, unable to go for the green on the par-5, laid up with his second shot down the right side of the fairway, coming to rest on the patron crossing.
This is where it got kind of strange as Nantz began describing what Koepka faced for his third shot. The broadcast had not yet shown where his second shot ended up.
“There he is right on the C.W.,” Nantz said before a slight pause and then clarification. “The crosswalk.”
Safe to say that perked a lot of ears at home.
For a refresh, LIV Golf recently signed a broadcast rights deal with The CW television network before its second season, which began in February. Additionally, we’re going to go out on a limb and say you can probably count on one hand the number of times Nantz has called a crosswalk “the C.W.” in his nearly four-decade career at CBS, if he ever has. In the immediate aftermath of the situation, the Internet seemed to agree.
Koepka ended up taking a drop from the crosswalk and made par thanks to a specular break after his third shot hung up on the steep bank in front of the green. He finished with a 73, giving him a two-shot lead over Rahm heading into the afternoon’s final round at 11 under.
Nantz has been critical of LIV. Back when the Saudi-backed breakaway league launched in June 2022, he said he felt “betrayal” when discussing the tour’s debut event with his then-seat-mate Nick Faldo. Nantz also fired a salvo toward that week’s winner, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.
“Charl Schwartzel with his first win of any kind in six years, ranked 126th in the world, he was the victor of this 54-hole event of the tour that’s Saudi-backed,” Nantz said.
Koepka won last week’s LIV Golf event in Orlando, his second in four starts after not winning for almost 18 months worldwide.
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