1986 Masters revisited: Jim Nantz remembers first Masters as Golden Bear roars

Apr. 12—Editor's note: The Aiken Standard is looking back at the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Masters, the first one John Boyette covered as a journalist.

Millions of viewers from around the world will tune in to CBS today to watch the final round of the Masters Tournament.

CBS, nicknamed the "Tiffany Network" for its commitment to high quality, has broadcast from Augusta National Golf Club since 1956. In a unique relationship, Augusta National Golf Club and CBS negotiate a contract each year. It's the longest running sporting event on one network.

But in 1986, a young Jim Nantz was making his Masters debut. He wasn't sure if it was a one-time offer or if he would earn his way back to Augusta.

"I guess I can say it now that I'm 66 — what in the world was CBS thinking putting me in the 16th tower? I was just a kid," Nantz said last month on a conference call with reporters. "My gosh. That was one of the greatest days of my life to be able to live a childhood dream to one day grow up and be able to be part of Frank Chirkinian's broadcast team and specifically be there for the Masters Tournament."

Chirkinian, the legendary CBS producer known for his stern demeanor, told Nantz about a month before the 1986 Masters. The network flew Nantz to Augusta to film some promos that would be used during the NCAA Tournament.

"He wanted to put me on camera on those 10-, and 20- and 30-second spots because I was the newcomer and I was going to be a new voice at Augusta and 'I wanted people to have some idea who you are,'" Nantz said. "And that I didn't just drop out of the sky."

What Nantz didn't know was that he would be on the 16th hole.

"One of the first things that flashed through my mind was I was still living in a dorm room not even four years before," Nantz said. "But of course, I took it in stride, like 'Sounds good, I'm looking forward to it.'"

Nantz, being a golf geek and a former roommate of Fred Couples at the University of Houston, knew a little bit about the history of the hole known as Redbud. Henry Longhurst, Clive Clark and Jim Thacker had all called the action there for CBS in years past.

"I had a little bit of imposter syndrome, but I didn't want them to know that," he said. "So, I had a month to obsess over it and battle some nerves and anxiety about the fact that I would be so late in the game on the 70th hole come Sunday. And it was a weighty assignment for a young kid. I'm grateful that they gave me the opportunity."

Star-studded leaderboard

In sports, there's a saying when a player comes into a game late as a defensive replacement or injury substitution: the ball finds you.

In 1986, the ball found Nantz.

The Masters is never short on drama, and in 1986 it was shaping up to be one of the most memorable in recent years. A star-studded cast of international players dominated the action, and by Sunday it looked like one of them would win. Australia's Greg Norman held the 54-hole lead but had several pursuers who were in striking distance.

Jack Nicklaus, the five-time Masters winner, was four back to start the day and an afterthought.

"When you look at all the people in the mix there [in 1986], it was an amazing assemblage of Hall of Famers," Nantz said. "Seve (Ballesteros) was there. Norman was there. Nick Price had shot the course record on Saturday and was playing in the final pairing. Bernhard Langer had won the year before and he was in the mix again. Tom Kite. Corey Pavin. Tom Watson. It was just an awesome leaderboard."

Ballesteros made two eagles in his first 13 holes and appeared headed to his third Masters triumph.

But Nicklaus rolled in birdie putts at Nos. 9, 10 and 11 as CBS was beginning its Sunday afternoon coverage, and the roars were starting to roll across Augusta National.

The Golden Bear was 46, and a newspaper article before the tournament deemed him too old to win golf's first major.

Nicklaus wasn't listening to that noise. At No. 15, he sank an eagle putt that put him squarely in the mix. His son and caddie that week, Jack II, leaped high in the Georgia air.

"Yes sir!" Ben Wright, the CBS announcer on No. 15, exclaimed.

16th hole crucial again

The 16th hole had played a big role for Nicklaus in his 1963 and 1975 wins with pivotal birdie putts.

Now Nicklaus was on the tee, and it was time for Nantz to call the action.

"Jack Nicklaus, knowing he must continue the charge," Nantz said. "He has to figure that Ballesteros will make at least a birdie back on 15. If anyone has ever owned this hole, it would be Jack Nicklaus."

Nantz then asked Tom Weiskopf, a four-time Masters runner-up and part of the CBS team, what Nicklaus was thinking.

"If I knew the way he thought, I would have won this tournament, Jim," Weiskopf said. "No, seriously, he is going to fire this right at the pin. He is going to think Jack, this is time right now, make the swing you are capable of making. Stay down, accelerate through the ball, make a good golf swing. Your destiny is right here."

The analysis was spot on.

Nicklaus launched his 5-iron tee shot and bent down to pick up his tee.

"Be right," his son said.

"It is," Nicklaus replied.

The ball landed right of the pin, caught the slope and settled 3 feet away.

"Oh my," Nantz said. "Back on the tee, he clearly has no idea just how close he is."

Nicklaus made the birdie putt, drawing him one shot behind the lead. That set up Nantz for one of his most memorable lines.

"There is no doubt about it," he said. "The Bear has come out of hibernation."

Forty years later, current CBS analyst Trevor Immelman asked Nantz to deliver that line again for the conference call.

"Come on, let me hear it another time," Immelman said.

Nantz obliged.

"That's it," Immelman said. "I love it."

Memorable call

A lot happened in a short time span following the Nicklaus birdie at No. 16.

After Nantz uttered his famous words, CBS colleague Verne Lundquist delivered an even more memorable line.

"When he stood on 17 tee, Seve had dumped it in the water at 15. All of a sudden, Jack was tied for the lead," Lundquist said before his final Masters in 2024. "And (Nicklaus) put a bad move on tee shot, ended up over near the 7th green. He hit a pitching wedge, and left it 12 feet above the hole."

Lundquist sensed a big moment might occur soon.

"I remember thinking to myself, as he walked up, keep it simple and get your butt out of the way," Lundquist said. "I managed to do that."

Nicklaus carefully studied the putt, correctly telling his son/caddie that the ball would turn back left toward Rae's Creek. Then he stroked the putt with his oversized Response ZT putter.

As the putt approached the hole, Lundquist said "Maybe." And a few seconds, as the ball fell into the cup and Nicklaus raised his putter in the air, he completed the thought with "Yes sir!"

Nicklaus would go on to win his sixth Masters at the age of 46.

Lundquist can't escape the call, nor the "in your life" call he made in 2005 when Tiger Woods chipped in for an unlikely birdie at No. 16.

"I boldly predicted, when it was that far from the hole (holding his hands a few inches apart), aggressive commentary," Lundquist said of the Nicklaus putt. "I reacted with what I said. A little 'yes sir' with slightly more emphasis than that."

Looking back

CBS will air a one-hour documentary today on the 40th anniversary of Nicklaus's final Masters win. It's simply called "1986" and will be shown at noon.

A lot has changed in the broadcast world in four decades. CBS now features 18-hole coverage of the leaders, something the club and tournament didn't embrace until 2002. Now the broadcast features state-of-the-art technology, including drone shots and tracer technology.

"Just by today's standards with technology and innovation and CBS's commitment to it, the [1986] show just looks a whole lot different than the modern standard set by Sellers Shy and Steve [Milton] and led by David [Berson] and CBS's unending commitment to try to advance golf, innovate," Nantz said. "It's just different."

Like many, Nantz thinks 1986 makes a strong case as the greatest Masters of all time.

"When people ask, 'What's the greatest Masters of all-time?' Is it '97? Is it 2019? Is it 2025?'" Nantz said. "If I really got pushed into a corner, I would say 1986. I just don't want recency bias to change that mix on a leaderboard of great, legendary players."

Nicklaus was considered washed up and hadn't won a tournament of any kind in two years, let alone a major, Nantz said.

"Just not really even a part of the thought process going into Sunday that he could find a way to present I think one of the great encore performances in any sport," Nantz said. "Yeah, it was a great day."

Like 1986 and Nicklaus, Nantz has become a fixture at the Masters. He will be on hand for the 41st consecutive year and will be the host.

For his "out of hibernation" line, Nantz worried that he had plagiarized it from someone else.

"It was original and somehow it dropped out of the sky and into my head and I uttered it," Nantz said. "And I was thankful that after the show Frank Chirkinian gave me a big hug and told me that I would be back the following year."