Jim Nantz appeared to combine in an LIV Golf joke while broadcasting the Masters on CBS.
Or, if not a calculated comment, it a minimum of seemed that way when Brooks Koepka — who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed golf league in June 2022 — walked to seek out his ball on the fifteenth hole in the course of the completion of the third round Sunday.
Then, Nantz, a broadcaster for CBS’ coverage of the Masters since 1986, described where Koepka’s ball landed.
“There he’s, right on the CW — the crosswalk,” Nantz said.
The CW emerged as an unusual television destination for LIV Golf, in comparison with the network connections for other sports and leagues, when the pair reached a deal in January to broadcast tournaments.
“This can be a momentous day for LIV Golf as this partnership is about greater than just media rights,” LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said in January. “The CW will provide accessibility for our fans and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners. We’re very proud to notice how consequential it’s that a league that has only existed for one yr has secured a full broadcast deal in its debut full league season.”
But the brand new television deal only led to 286,000 and 291,000 viewers in the course of the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts, respectively, of LIV Golf’s first event of the yr, in keeping with Sports Business Journal.
Those rankings didn’t improve for the second event, either.
This weekend, though, the LIV Golf members participating within the Masters may have their last two rounds aired on CBS, including Koepka, who entered the ultimate 18 holes Sunday with a two-shot lead.
The Masters announced in December that LIV Golf members who qualified for the tournament could participate, though it still created a special variety of environment at Augusta National Golf Club — where the 2 dueling golf associations, and the 18 LIV Golf members, overlapped on the course for the primary time.
