During the final round of The Masters Sunday, it appeared that CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz referenced LIV Golf’s struggling television deal with The CW as Brooks Koepka — a LIV Golfer — hit a shot onto the crosswalk.
“There he is, right on The CW. The crosswalk,” Nantz said with a faint chuckle.
However, Nantz has denied the quip was a shot at the upstart LIV tour, Koepka, or the television deal with the controversial Saudi-backed league currently has with The CW.
“I am honestly shocked that there was any reaction to it,” Nantz said during an appearance on the SI Media podcast with Jimmy Traina. “First of all, we were on the air for 29 hours, either lived or taping, so for The Masters to be summed up in a throwaway line on a Sunday morning for me, I find it amazing what people latch onto. Definitely was not a shot. It just was something that I could see that his second shot at 15 ended up at the crosswalk. That’s a rarity, to see someone’s shot end up on the crosswalk. That’s just the way my brain works.
“So I said ‘There he is, on the CW. The crosswalk. I was maybe being a little cheeky. It wasn’t a shot at all. Maybe trying to be a little whimsical, but the bottom line is I think we showed every golfer in that field last week a tremendous amount of respect, no matter what tour they’re playing. It certainly wasn’t an attempt to create a sharper edge or division in the game. To me, it was a nothing.”
Nantz said that like Al Michaels, he has a “little bit of a rascal” in him, but that is mostly off the air.
Traina asked if it was a reference to The CW as “cheeky way”.
“You’re overthinking it right now, Jimmy. I’ll just say that,” Nantz concluded.
