Verne Lundquist on Sunday afternoon gave his last narration of a Masters champion's winning birdie.
"Why not? Why not get in the hole?" Lundquist said with his bourbon-smooth voice as Scottie Scheffler drained the short putt on the 16th hole to increase his lead to four strokes.
Lundquist, who called Jack Nicklaus' Masters-winning putt on the 17th hole in 1986 and Tiger Woods' dramatic 16th hole chip-in for his fourth title in 2005, said farewell to the Masters after 40 Aprils at Augusta National.
In a brilliant career that began as a radio DJ and the voice of the Cowboys in his hometown of Dallas, Lundquist ranged from SEC football to NASCAR, college basketball, golf and figure skating at the Winter Olympics.
Along with his resonant baritone, Lundquist displayed a gift for capturing the drama of a big moment in simple yet memorable language.
Lundquist spent most of his career at CBS, beloved as the Saturday afternoon voice of SEC football as the conference rose to national supremacy.
Known as "Uncle Verne" from Baton Rouge to Gainesville, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Athens, Nashville, Columbia and Knoxville, Lundquist described big plays like Auburn's "Kick Six" touchdown that shocked Alabama in 2013.
Paired with the folksy Bill Rafferty, Lundsquist also expressed the excitement of college basketball, such as describing Christian Laettner's half-court shot that gave Duke a last-second March Madness win over Kentucky in 1992.
After Scheffler and playing partner Collin Morikawa hit their shots Sunday to the pond-guarded par-three 16th, one of golf's greatest stages, Lundquist said "now Scottie and Collin will begin that majestic walk and the applause will grow."
"Verne, that crowd could just as well be standing for you," said CBS lead announcer Jim Nantz, who first met Lundquist when Nantz was a young sideline reporter for the old Blue-Gray college all-star game.
Before Lundquist climbed for the last time into his broadcast tower overlooking the 16th green, he said farewell to Woods, who earlier in the week expressed his admiration for Lundquist and his famous "did you ever in your life" narration of Woods' 2005 chip-in.
Lundquist sat beneath a tree as Woods finished the 16h hole.Woods saw Lundquist and walked over to shake hands with the man forever connected to his memorable shot. The Masters legends exchanged warm words, and Lundquist waved goodbye as Woods walked away.
In his final tribute to Lundquist, Nance said, "Thanks, to borrow a phrase, thanks for the memories. Your voice has been a beautiful instrument. Thank you for a wonderful soundtrack for all of our lives."
That was true for fans of Southern football and the Masters.
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