Verne Lundquist’s debut on the Masters telecast in 1983 roughly coincided with the move to Steamboat Springs. And while he and his wife Nancy still split their time between homes in Steamboat and Austin, 2024 marked his 40th and final signoff from Augusta National.
And what a legacy he left.
To wit: You can’t think of Jack Nicklaus’s putt on 17 at the ’86 Masters without the accompanying “Maybe…Yes, Sir!” Nor can you watch a replay of Tiger’s implausible chip-in birdie on the 16th in 2005 without hearing the crescendo build with every rotation of the ball: “Here it comes … Oh, my goodness! … OH, WOW! IN YOUR LIFE, have you seen anything like that?!”
“There’s a permanence to these events,” his broadcasting colleague Jim Nantz says. “When you lend a narrative to iconic moments, you get to ride along with the video and are carried into eternity.” Those rides, which spanned parts of seven decades and dozens of different sports, began shortly after Lundquist graduated from Texas Lutheran University. Starting as a weekend sports anchor in Austin, he eventually became the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys between 1967 and 1984.
Of course, golf—and specifically the Masters—is where Lundquist shone most brightly. During his final broadcast in 2024, the hosannas rained down. “Verne’s genius lies in the discipline to have the confidence and composure not to insert himself into the moment,” Nantz marvels. “He just drops in like an undercurrent as the perfect complement.”
Lundquist is just as beloved by the Steamboat community. He is a longtime board member of the Strings Music Festival. “Verne loves the music and the people who play it,” festival co-founder Kay Clagett says. “You couldn’t ask for anyone more enthusiastic or involved.”
