Kevin Kisner criticized the coverage of The Masters, stating it was 'so bad' that he texted Colt Knost during the broadcast to express his dissatisfaction. Rory McIlroy won the tournament, becoming the fourth player to win at Augusta National in consecutive years.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
While The Masters prides itself on being the most pristine sporting event anywhere on the planet, there was one aspect of this past weekâs tournament that left so much to be desired.
Rory McIlroy became only the fourth player to win at Augusta National in successive years, with the Northern Irishman finishing one shot clear of Scottie Scheffler.
Obviously, this yearâs Masters was almost certainly never going to come close to being as exciting as 12 months ago when the world finally saw McIlroy complete the Career Grand Slam.
But what did not help this yearâs eventâs chances of hitting similar heights was an uncharacteristically substandard broadcast.
Kevin Kisner strongly criticises the coverage of The Masters
The shot-tracers led to some comical moments, particularly when Justin Rose hit his approach on the 13th hole. The ball nearly pitched in the hole, yet the tracer had suggested that it was either ending up in the creek or to the right of it.
And it certainly left a sour taste in the mouth when the cameras did not realise Rory McIlroyâs approach into 18 had ended up in the bunker. They also picked an angle for his winning putt which made it nearly impossible to see whether the ball had gone in until McIlroy started to celebrate.
And speaking on the Fore Play Podcast, Kevin Kisner admitted that he was baffled by how golfâs flagship event was presented.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
âI have a very biased opinion, so I want to go and put that out there before I start since I work for the other network, but running Sirius XM off of â Iâve never done radio in my life until yesterday at 3 oâclock, literally, never even worn a headset in there â and I was so fââ confused the entire time by trying to keep up with the behind the scenes CBS feed. Theyâre literally showing sâ that I knew happened 10 minutes ago all day long,â he said.
âIt was so bad that I in fact text Colt Knost during the show and said, âdo you ever show a live shot? Iâm better off following the fââ app than following your feedâ, so your entire Masters coverage is a fantasy world. Itâs bââ-. Whatever we all watch, has already happened seven minutes ago. Can you imagine watching the fââ Super Bowl, like, âoh yeah, Tom Brady threw that touchdown seven minutes ago, weâre going to act like itâs live here so our announcers can sound really smart, and weâre going to sit here and heâs going to throw a wide open down the middle, but it actually happened seven minutes ago and everybody in the stadiumâs taking a pââ. What are we doing? You have no commercials, play live shots.
âOur production team at NBC prides themselves on playing every shot that they possibly can live. And when we canât, we have to say a moment ago because weâre trying to make the whole movie make sense. We donât want to show you a tap-in on 16 and then go, âoh yeah, heâs already hitting his shot on 17â, because obviously he has to walk over there. I have no idea what theyâre doing, literally no idea. Theyâre showing every shot on tape. Itâs incredible. I donât even know how the announcers call it. I donât know how Colt can act like he doesnât know whatâs happening when itâs already happened. There were a couple of shots in two days that Iâm telling you were seven to 10 minutes behind. It was unbelievable. Iâm not trying to just kill them, but being in TV 30 times and seeing what our production team does, it was fascinating to me.â
This yearâs Masters coverage was far from a masterpiece
The Masters is so special because so many people have a certain memory of watching the coverage over the years where the moment was presented absolutely perfectly.
Tiger Woodsâ iconic chip-in in 2005 is somehow made all the more incredible by the commentary. And the camera work is completely flawless.
Few will ever forget how Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman elevated McIlroyâs victory last year. When they spoke, it was intentional. But they were more than happy to put the microphones down and let the pictures say everything for them.
The coverage should leave viewers feeling that they can imagine being among the patrons wherever they are in the world.
Unfortunately, it only takes a handful of mistakes for that illusion to be destroyed.
Q&A
Why did Kevin Kisner complain about The Masters coverage?
Kevin Kisner found the coverage of The Masters to be inadequate, prompting him to text Colt Knost during the broadcast to voice his concerns.
Who won The Masters this year and what was significant about their win?
Rory McIlroy won The Masters this year, becoming only the fourth player to win at Augusta National in consecutive years.
How did this year's Masters compare to last year's tournament?
This year's Masters was expected to be less exciting than last year's, which featured Rory McIlroy completing the Career Grand Slam.
What was the final outcome of the Masters tournament?
Rory McIlroy finished one shot clear of Scottie Scheffler to secure the victory at The Masters.
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