Jim Nantz is the long-time voice of CBS Sports, and for golf fans, he's the familiar lead voice for the network's golf coverage, including the Masters Tournament and PGA Championship, as well as the PGA Tour.
Late on Sunday in the final round of the 2024 Masters, Nantz made an observation about the top five players on the leaderboard that's visible to viewers in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
"On the leaderboard, where the top five names are all PGA Tour players," Nantz said, referring to Scottie Scheffler making a 5 on the par-5 15th with a No. 5 golf ball.
At that time, Scheffler was in command of the tournament by three shots over Masters debutant Ludvig Aberg. Collin Morikawa and Max Homa were tied for third place, five back of Scheffler, while Tommy Fleetwood was alone in fifth place and in the clubhouse after a Sunday 69. Nantz was going for a bit of symmetry with the number five at the time.
That was a not-so-subtle dig at LIV Golf, which was well represented on the 2023 Masters leaderboard. Jon Rahm played on the PGA Tour at the time, but he's now a member of LIV Golf. Phil Mickelson, one of the founding players of the Saudi-owned league, finished tied for second place on the back of his best-ever final round at Augusta National. Brooks Koepka, who went on to win the PGA Championship a month later for his fifth major title, came up just short. Patrick Reed finished tied for fourth place.
This year, the closest LIV Golf contender was Bryson DeChambeau, who had the first-round lead and then started working his way backward against par and on the leaderboard.
In 2023, there were 18 LIV Golf players in the Masters field, with just 13 participating in 2024.
In 2024, though, it was all about Scottie Scheffler claiming his third win of the year and his second Masters crown in dominant fashion.
