There’s a lot of positive things to say about how Jim Nantz and CBS Sports covered a thrilling 2026 Masters Tournament. Unfortunately, they pale to how CBS mangled coverage of Rory McIlroy’s victory on the 18th hole.
Holding a two shot lead, the reigning Masters champ only needed a bogey five to beat Scottie Scheffler. But he blocked his tee shot way right into the trees on No. 18–putting millions of TV viewers on the edge of their seats.
CBS gave us a great look at the difficulty of McIlroy’s approach shot off pine straw and through trees. We saw that McIlroy hit it cleanly.
On-course reporter Dottie Pepper noted, “8 Iron on the way.” Color analyst Trevor Immelman said it “sounded solid.” And Nantz ventured his shot probably ended up somewhere “around” the green. Then things got confusing.
CBS then cut to Cam Young, McIlroy’s playing partner, for his second shot. But for over a minute, the network wouldn’t or couldn’t tell viewers where the most important shot of the tournament landed–and what McIlroy was facing next.
After a shot of McIlroy striding up the 18th fairway, CBS suggested it was McIlroy’s ball, not Young’s, sitting in the left front bunker. But the network wouldn’t say so definitively until McIlroy walked into the sand and identified his ball.
What happened? Who knows. Maybe the expansive CBS production team simply couldn’t find McIlroy’s second shot? Maybe somebody froze? Maybe CBS let their guard down in preparation for the Northern Irishman’s coronation?
But networks like CBS are constantly bragging about having a million cameras covering every inch of championship events. If the network didn’t know that it was McIlroy’s second shot in the bunker, that’s a mistake. (Oh, did we mention CBS also lost Young’s second shot?)
Not to worry. McIlroy hit a nice bunker shot onto the green. His putt left him a tap-in for his second straight green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club.
Uh-oh. The CBS directors then inexplicably chose a camera shot that blocked viewers’ view of the winning putt going into the hole. Not the worst mistake in the world. But fans noticed.
If you ask me, CBS also missed an opportunity to second-guess McIlroy’s club selection of a driver on the 18th tee.
Nantz smartly cued up Immelman. “You like the play?” asked Nantz. Immelman said, “I do.” Oops. McIlroy nearly sliced his tee shot into South Carolina. But CBS’s lead duo didn’t return to the topic.
If that had been Phil Mickelson pulling out the big dog on No. 18 with a two-shot lead, NBC’s Johnny Miller would have had a stroke on the air. It was a shame.
McIlroy pulled off one of the greatest clutch shots of all time on No. 18. But viewers didn’t know where it landed. That’s a worse bogey than the one McIlroy carded.
