By Chris Polson at Bleacher Report
Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne told ESPN that they will be
extending the coverage of The Masters an extra hour next year. That
means we will get 4 extra hours of the golf season's first major.
My question is: Why not extend it further?
Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that they have extended it an extra hour. But I want more.
It took years before the brass of Augusta National even started
showing the front nine on TV. For the past few years we've gotten to
see the entire third and fourth rounds of the leaders, but that's about
it. They've started catching on by having internet coverage of "Amen
Corner" the past few years, but its only for a couple of hours. Places
like Yahoo and even the PGA's official website are showing hours of
coverage on their sites before the TV coverage comes on.
I've played golf, albeit poorly, for many years. I know how long it
takes to play, no matter how good or bad you are. Three hours isn't
enough time to see a full round of golf unless you're playing "speed
golf". This fourth hour of TV is a step in the right direction, but I
think more is still needed.
Since the times of the pairings in the first two rounds are all over
the place, those of us who have to watch it on TV don't always get to
see our favorite golfers. And if they don't make the cut, we don't get
to see them at all. While making the cut is in the hands of the
players, the amount of TV time they get is not.
We get almost all-day coverage for the other three majors, you'd
think that arguably the most popular major would get the same
treatment. CBS shows half hour highlights around midnight to try and
help us get our fix of the first two rounds of the Masters.
Really? This still baffles me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I know this is a very exclusive tournament and an even more exclusive
club to get into. There are many people of high standing that have
never played a round on the course. I would think they could make a lot
of extra money by airing more hours on television, but maybe its not
about money to them. I'm not a member of the club, so I obviously don't
know the whole story.
Either way, an extra hour per round of my favorite tournament of the
year is a good thing. Let's hope its a trend that continues over the
years.