"There was no effort to conceal him"- Jim Nantz opposes the Phil Mickelson shadow ban claims at the Masters
Phil Mickelson made headlines last week at The Masters after finishing second. The LIV player astounded everyone with his outstanding performance in the 72-hole event. He struggled with his game while competing in the Saudi-backed series. He did, however, impress everyone with his performance at the Masters. This sparked outrage on social media, with individuals criticizing the CBS network for not airing his game.
Jim Nantz, a renowned golf commentator, recently reacted to reports claiming Phil Mickelson was shadow banned from the Masters while talking on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast. He stated that the network had no intention of cutting the former Masters champion's performance at the Augusta Tournament.
"If you went back and looked at the full coverage on Sunday, including Sunday morning, the finishing up of the third round, our guys were really on Phil. Part of it is optics, when you look at the leaderboard at the end and you see that Phil’s tied for second, you think, ‘Well, my gosh, they must have been on him all day.
"With two holes to play, he was tied for fifth with eight other guys at six under par, and he happens to be facing two holes that you’re lucky if you come through there unscathed in 17 and 18. The odds are, if you had to make a prediction on it as you stood on the 17th tee, he’s probably going to make bogey on one of the last two holes and he’ll finish in the top 10," he added.
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Nantz went on to say that the leaderboard was drastically changed in the last round. He went on to add:
"At the end, the leaderboard looks like, ‘Well, he should have gotten that much coverage because he finished second.’ But you don’t know how it’s all going to play out in the end. There was no effort at all by anybody at CBS to treat anyone any differently. Phil has been a buddy of mine for a long time. There was no effort to conceal him or hide him at all."
Phil Mickelson trailed by a third-round lead until Sunday morning (April 9). The lefty, however, played a spectacular round of 7-under 65 with eight birdies to finish at 8-under in the last round, to finish at second position.
What happened to Phil Mickelson at the Masters?
Phil Mickelson shot 71 in the first round at the Masters. He made three bogeys, a double bogey, and six birdies. In the second round with a birdie on the first hole but double-bogeyed the sixth. After the second round, Mickelson had a score of 69.
Phil Mickelson finished the third round with five bogeys and two birdies to wrap up at 75. However, the LIV golfer made a strong recovery in the final round, sinking eight birdies and one bogey. He finished second after scoring 65 in the final round.
Jon Rahm won the Masters in 2023 after defeating Brooks Koepka, who was leading the tournament for the first three days. Jordan Spieth settled for fourth place in a three-way tie alongside Russell Henley and Patrick Reed.