CBS weekend Masters coverage will feature heavy dose of Palmer

CBS takes over television coverage of the Masters Tournament this weekend, and viewers can expect a heavy dose of Arnold Palmer nostalgia.

Palmer, the four-time Masters champion, died in September. He has already been one of the focal points this week, and he will figure heavily in three of the specials that will lead into CBS’ coverage today and Sunday.

The main one, airing at 1 p.m. Sunday, is Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta: Arnold Palmer – His Last Visit to the Masters. The Masters: Magical Moments airs from 1:30-2 p.m. today and is followed by The Masters: Legends of Magnolia Lane before third-round coverage begins at 3.

Nantz was able to interview Palmer right after he made an emotional appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Masters. As it turned out, the session in Butler Cabin would be the last recorded interview of Palmer.

“We’d periodically update his history with Augusta,” Nantz said. “We have a library of tapes, of pieces we’ve done with Arnie through the years. I think he understood that we were looking for lookback pieces when he was gone.”

Although Palmer had been in declining health, Nantz said the golfer perked up when the cameras turned on.

“When he got in the chair and we began the interview, it was as if the clock was dialed back 15 or 20 years,” Nantz said. “He was ready. He just came to life.”

After the interview, Palmer visited another cabin on the property and Nantz accompanied him. When it was time to go, Nantz walked with Palmer to his car.

“We waved goodbye, and I feared that would be the last time he would ever be at Augusta,” Nantz said. “I felt like there should have almost been a parade.”

When Palmer died, Nantz was asked to speak at the memorial service. The two had become friends through the years, and he described it as one of the greatest honors of his life to be a eulogist.

The special has Palmer reading a letter he wrote to Augusta National after his 1960 victory. It also features narration from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, his fellow Big Three mates, and Phil Mickelson, the modern player who has followed Palmer’s bold style of play.

“(Palmer) went on about how much Augusta has meant to him, not what he’s meant to Augusta,” Nantz said. “The great ones have a way of not making it about them. This was about how grateful he was. It was his father’s dream, and his dream to come here, and he never wanted to let go.”