Jim Nantz insists CBS did NOT intentionally keep Phil Mickelson off screen as he skyrocketed in the Masters standings… after LIV Golf fans were outraged by lack of airtime for Rebels
- Jim Nantz was the chief CBS golf commentator on The Masters last weekend
- Phil Mickelson made a late charge, but some thought he didn’t get much TV time
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CBS star announcer Jim Nantz has responded to criticism from LIV Golf fans that the network deliberately dropped Phil Mickelson and other Rebel players from their Masters coverage last Sunday.
Mickelson shot up the standings on the final day of Augusta National, eventually finishing tied for second in a huge boost to the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway tour — and some felt CBS wasn’t giving the southpaw enough airtime.
That opinion was presented this week to the network’s top announcer, Nantz, and he was quick to quash any rumors of an informed decision.
“If you go back and look at the full coverage on Sunday, including Sunday morning, the wrap-up of the third round, our guys were really on Phil,” he told Sports Illustrated.
“Part of it is optics, when you look at the standings at the end and you see Phil tied for second, you think, ‘Well, my God, they must have been following him all day.”
Some fans argued that Phil Mickelson was not getting enough CBS airtime on Masters Sunday
Jim Nantz refuted claims that it was a conscious decision by CBS to keep the LIV Golf star off screen
“With two holes left to play, he finished tied for fifth with eight other guys at six under par. you had to make a prediction about it when you were on the 17th tee, he’s probably going to bogey on one of the last two holes and he will finish in the top 10.
To Phil’s credit, he hit it to an inch in 17 and made a birdie. We showed his whole game of 18, and all of a sudden he birdie birdie, and it was great close to him.
At the end, the standings look like, “Well, he should have had that much coverage because he finished second.” But you don’t know how it will all turn out in the end. No one at CBS has bothered to treat anyone else.
“Phil has been a buddy of mine for a long time. There was no attempt to hide him or hide him at all.’
In the end, it was Jon Rahm of the PGA Tour who donned the green jacket at Augusta National
A CBS TV drone flies over the 16th hole during The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia
At the end of the Masters, three LIV Golf players were in the top 10, with Brooks Koepka and Mickelson in second and Patrick Reed in fourth.
Elsewhere, Joaquin Niemann (16th) and Harold Varner III (29th) finished in the top 30 to prove that LIV players can make it at the highest level.
Overall, though, it was a PGA man who donned the green jacket at the end of the week, with Spaniard Jon Rahm taking top honors at Augusta National.