Verne Lundquist has become a staple at the Masters every spring. You can almost hear him calling the action on No. 16 even as you read this post.
There he is calling Tiger Woods' chip-in at the 2005 Masters. There he is calling Adam Scott's near hole-out at the 2011 Masters.
And there he is calling Jack Nicklaus' birdie on No. 16 in the final round of the 1986 Masters.
Lundquist has always said that Masters was the greatest event he's ever called but he told Newsday after the Auburn-Alabama game on Saturday, it now has competition.
"For 27 years, having experienced [Jack] Nicklaus winning at Augusta in '86, I have been consistent and I've always said that that was the single greatest sporting event I've ever seen.
"This one is right up there equal to it. And that takes into consideration a lot of different events that I've been lucky enough to be a part of. From start to finish, especially the finish, this was an extraordinary afternoon and evening."
Lundquist also called the 1992 East Regional between Duke and Kentucky. Yes, that one, the famous one.
He initially said after the game that both the Iron Bowl and basketball game still trailed the '86 Masters before calling the football game "equal" to the Masters.
"I'm a stubborn old goat, so I said, '[the 2013 Iron Bowl] ties for No. 2 with [Christian] Laettner's shot [for Duke over Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Tournament], but behind Jack,' " he said.He later reconsidered.
"Then the more I thought about it, from start to finish, this one was really something else," he said.
That's where the "this one is right up there equal to it" quote came in.
Golf fans will likely disagree but it's tough to argue with the man who's been at all of them. And what a career it's been for Lundquist.
"I've been at CBS now since '82, so 31 years," he said, "and to have something extraordinary like this happen so late in my career is unbelievable to me."
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