Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
There are multiple generations of golf fans who don’t know what it’s like to watch The Masters without Jim Nantz helming the coverage for CBS. The legendary broadcaster plans to stick with that gig for the foreseeable future, but he’s apparently already decided when he’s going to call it quits.
The Masters is easily the most anticipated event on the golf calendar, and it’s hard not to get a warm and fuzzy feeling when you hear Jim Nantz utter his iconic “Hello friends” greeting during the first round on Thursday to unofficially usher in the arrival of A Tradition Unlike Any Other.
CBS has had the rights to televise the hallowed major since 1956, and Nantz—who covered the event for the first time in 1986 and has anchored the coverage since 1989—is among a lengthy list of broadcasting legends (including Verne Lundquist, Vin Scully, and Pat Summerall) who have tracked the proceedings at Augusta National over the decades.
The 65-year-old Nantz also covers NFL games for CBS alongside Tony Romo and spent close to 25 working college basketball games for the network before retiring from that particular pastime after calling an NCAA Tournament game for the last time in 2023.
During a recent interview with Bunkered, Nantz revealed he’s also given some thought to how long he wants to keep helming the broadcast at The Masters while sharing his tentative retirement plan ahead of this year’s tournament, saying:
“But if all the stars aligned, right now, it feels like a pretty good exit point. April 14, 2036. That is my scheduled retirement date. It would be a perfect place to walk out….
A lot of things have to happen for that to occur. First off, my health would have to hold up. Secondly, CBS and Augusta National would have to want me to come back.”
It seems pretty safe to assume both of those parties have no plans to switch things up when you consider the status quo has remained unchanged for more than 35 years, so here’s to hoping his health cooperates so he can get the proper sendoff he’s more than deserved when 2036 rolls around.