Jim Nantz says he’d like to call the Masters ’51 times, as bizarre as that sounds’

Jim Nantz recently announced he calls the last final four next spring.

So when will Masters’ voice be the last to drive down Magnolia Lane to cover an event for CBS Sports?

“Masters, I want to do it 51 times. It may sound strange.” The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday“My 51st Masters will be my 100th Masters play, and I want to see the end of the century.

“I’m 37 now, so I hope I’ll be 14 more.”

“Have you just announced your retirement from the Masters?” Patrick asked.

“Yeah,” Nantz said with a smile. (Nantz notes that he has publicly advocated the plan for nearly a decade since legendary broadcaster Jack Whitaker said he would make the 2036 Masters his 100th play of the tournament. need to do it.)

If so, golf fans will be able to hear Nantz, 63, repeat his story. masters catchphrase “Hello friends” 14 more times.

As he prepares to say goodbye to college basketball’s greatest event, he plans to continue calling NFL games with Tony Romo on CBS. Or maybe a little further. “

But the closest and most dear to him is Augusta National in April. His first time entering a tournament was in his 1986, the year Jack Nicklaus won his sixth and final green his jacket. He became a host in 1989.

Ending on its 100th anniversary in 2036 (the Masters, which debuted in 1934, was not held until 1943-1945 during World War II) would be a fitting bookend to his golf publishing career. will be

“For me, Masters is the deepest thing in my heart,” he said. “He has never picked one sport as his favorite event, but I think everyone knows the Masters is something I feel a really personal connection with.

“It was then, when I was 11, that I said to my mom and dad, ‘That’s what I want to do someday, I want to be one of those voices.’ …I want to do that. And I I was very lucky to be living my childhood dreams even in my 60s, so it’s a great thing.

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The story was originally published in Golfweek