The Masters Apr 8, 2023; Augusta, Georgia, USA; A sea of umbrella-carrying patrons leave the course after play was suspeneded during the third round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network Pga Masters Tournament Third Round

One of the most anticipated golf events in the sport was barely viewed by fans on Saturday.

In a rather unprecedented move, the third round of the Masters was taken off the air just 15 minutes after CBS began its broadcast. Despite a torrential downpour, the Masters was still able to get in a full morning’s worth of play before CBS broadcasted from Augusta National at 3 p.m. ET.

In doing so, CBS left fans to fend for themselves. If fans wanted to follow the leaders of the tournament, they were going to have to do so on their own accord, live-streaming the event online — and even then — the featured groups online did not show the final group of John Rahm and Brooks Kopeka before the weather gave way and suspended play during the third round. So, if fans wanted to follow Rahm or Kopeka, the only way they would’ve been able to do so was by manually putting the two golfers into their “My Group” on the Masters’ website.

Sounds like a lot of holes to jump through just to watch the third round at Augusta, as CBS stuck by its regular programming of pre-taped shows on Saturday. All in all, those who tuned into CBS on Saturday afternoon got to see the leaders of the tournament play one hole during the third round.

Naturally, fans were not pleased with CBS, as the network missed the mark with its coverage, even with the ongoing possibility of weather delaying play at Augusta.

If golf fans and CBS want to find out how to spin Saturday’s disaster positively, play being suspended has opened the door for 12 hours of coverage on Sunday. On the flip side of things, that’s just about every golf lover’s dream, especially when considering the prestigiousness of the event. 

The third round of the Masters will resume Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET on CBS. This time around, CBS will air its live coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. and through the conclusion of the third round. The final round is expected to begin at 12:30 p.m., with the live broadcast remaining from 2:00-7:00 p.m., as the network had originally scheduled.

[The Masters]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.