Watch the complete final round broadcast of the 1978 Masters. Gary Player rallies from seven strokes behind to win his third Masters by one stroke over Tom Watson, Hubert Green, and Rod Funseth.
Glad I watched this until the end because even though I knew Player was a little guy, it was amazing to see how everybody really towered over him. A small man but an enormous competitor.
We revere Nicklaus for his sterling 65 in the 1986 Masters. How is it we miss the Gary Player 64 in the 1978 Masters? At 42, this round should be as memorialized as Jack's, yet we don't hear about it as much.
@@robatkinson5813 there is a legend that Jack Nicklaus said to player at the finish of the 1974 British open. "your not going to accept the trophy are you Gary?"
RIP Vin Scully. More known for baseball, obviously, but this was one of seven Masters he called for CBS. A great call by Vin of Gary Player's birdie on 18
47:30 Gary Player later commented how Seve, once he was personally out of the tournament, would want you to win. Seve loved that birdie putt that Player holed. RIP Seve.
47:25 One of the greatest non-baseball calls for Vin Scully. Really wished he would have done more golf. RIP to a gentleman & a legend in the broadcast booth!
One interesting note about the broadcast of the final round of the 1978 Masters was that is was shorter than some of the other final round broadcasts of that period. The reason was that the final round of the 1978 Masters was played on the same day that John Havlicek played his final game for the Boston Celtics, and CBS scheduled that Celtics game to run right before their final round coverage of the Masters, and it ran long, cutting substantially into what was intended to be the time window for CBS' coverage of the final round of the '78 Masters.
@@DanStrayer No, because he was the #1 play-by-play man on CBS' NBA broadcasts from the 1974-'75 season through the 1979-'80 season, and on this day, he was in Boston to cover Havlicek's final game. Some time between 1981 and '84, he joined CBS' Masters announce team as the host.
Seeing Seve in his young prime breaks my heart.....what a wonderful gifted genius of a player he was. So loved across the world and so sadly missed, he was my sporting hero as a kid but its great that these masters last days can be seen.
One of the more distinctive players of that day with his caddy swing and putting style. Really miss those days when they didn't all look, swing, and play the same. Think of Green, Palmer, Wadkins, Trevino, Floyd, Stadler, Sanders...all great and all distinctive.
That was some cool film of all those greats. An exclusive group! Jackie Burke is the only one of those guys I have met. You wonder what they talked about. I gather from reading that Mr. Hogan did not respect Arnold Palmer very much. It seems like he resented some of the younger players who could spray their drive and still compete on the greens.
First time I have seen this and great t see all the greats up there in a fantastic tournament. Augusta looks in wonderful condition and apart from the length you recognise all the holes as today. Greens are a bit slower that's all. Loved seeing Seve hugging Player on the 18th when he makes birdie. Such passion and genuine joy for him. Would loved to have seen Nicklaus Player Seve Watson and Trevino go against Tiger and today's bombers. Game on boys 😀
Back then when CBS cuts the NBA LIVE coverage between the Boston Celtics (led by the late John Havlicek on his last basketball game) against the Buffalo Braves (also this was the very last game of the Buffalo Braves before the franchise relocated from Buffalo to San Diego and become the Clippers) to give way the final round of the 1978 Masters Golf Tournament... From Brent Musburger (NBA) to Vin Scully (Masters Tournament). From the old Boston Garden (1928-1995) (NBA) to Augusta Golf Club (Masters Tournament).
1978 TV Announcers 11 & 12: Pat Summerall 13: Jack Whittaker 14: Ken Venturi 15: Ben Wright 16: Jim Thacker 17: Frank Glieber 18: Vin Scully I don't know the name of the letter font used for the onscreen info graphics. It was used only in 1978 by CBS for its PGA Tour & Masters Coverage. The 1978 graphics are my 2nd favorite, topped only to those used by CBS from 1992 to 1996.
tubiephrank0707 Dunno, but NBC (who first broadcast the Masters before CBS would from 1956 on) would use that font extensively in the late ‘70s-early ‘80s.
What a wonderful commentary and excellent questions by Arnold Palmer. Vince Scully was also superb. The camera work of CBS however left a lot to be desired. They inexcusably failed to show Tom Watson's errant drive on the 18th hole which lost the tournament for him and also had a terrible position on Gary Player's magnificent match winning birdie putt on the 18th hole. The camera man should have been fired.
Watson at 14th three putting..wow. That was the one big flaw in Tom's game, how many short putts did he miss at critical stages of big tournaments? Could have won a whole lot more, but that's golf I suppose..
Has to be said: Hubert Green was absolute class in the cabin. Blamed himself for the missed putt on 18, quite rightly, when others would have blamed the announcer. Amazing swing too.
Coming from Apartheid South Africa, Player walks off with his arms embracing his black caddy. Charlie Sifford said no one did more for him in addressing racism in gold than Gary Player. A truly great humanitarain.
I'm surprised this tournament doesn't get replayed in the same kind of light as years like 1960, 1975 or of course 1986. This one had it all, a huge comeback by a legend, and drama to the very end starring two of the OTHER best players of the era (and Rod Funseth.) I mean... 4 way tie with 5 holes to go, 3 way tie with 3 holes to go... Drama at its finest.
Actually, it did. Ten years ago, CBS aired a one-hour special commemorating the 30th anniversary of Player's final major championship and aired quite a bit of the original broadcast as part of the program. The irony, of course, was the Masters that year (2008) was won by another South African, Trevor Immelman.
Vin Scully had a perfect voice and demeanor for golf, and his descriptions of play framed the action beautifully. And how unfortunate that Trevino and Augusta National were like oil and water....just not the kind of course for a fader of the ball.
Trevino has said it was Robert's rotten treatment of him, not the course itself--which he loved--that soured him on the tournament. But at the time, criticism of Roberts was taboo, so he made up a story for the reporters.
tough to watch my favorite player Watson three putt to lose the lead and then have Player take it down with a crazy downhilll putt. only thing worse was Watson losing the british open on the last hole at age 59
Can’t win them all. Watson in his prime, which really starts in earnest from the British Open latter in 1977, was a great clutch player. But his prime was only from 1977-84.
@@voiceofreason8604 Agree. But I can't agree with 77-84 being a short reign at the top. He was the best in the world for more than 5 years. Woods, Nicklaus, Hogan, Jones, Hagen, Nelson, and Palmer are really the only others in that class. Like Palmer, by 35 he lost his edge. It was hard to watch. Nicklaus and Player managed to keep it going. [Player, great as he was, could never make the claim that he was the world's best. Neither could Sam Snead.]
Listen very closely -> @38:15 . I think it’s Hale Irwin being very honest after his tee shot on 17. I sometimes forget that they’re not always loving the game.
Great putt by Gary Player at 47:12. Ties a then-course record of 64 to become oldest champion at the time. Young Seve hugs him as if he had won it himself! Then a minute later defending champion Tom Watson holes an exciting putt at 16. An exciting Masters, a bit overshadowed by '86, but with the same ingredients: an older legend makes a comeback and several players fail to hole putts on 18 to tie. Could we hope for the same in 2018, 40 years later? At 1:17:10: Green has to step away from his putt to tie because he overheard a radio announcer saying something. Anticlimatic!
Another similarity between 1978 and 1986 is this. When Gary Player made his improbable run to overtake the leaders and grab his final major championship, his playing partner was someone who would learn how to win then Masters, and within two years, take the title himself. In 1980, Seve Ballesteros, who was paired with Player in the final round in '78, ran away with the title, and in 1988, Sandy Lyle, who was paired with Nicklaus in the final round in '86, took what he saw on that fateful day to grab the title with one of the most memorable fairway bunker shots ever hit two years later.
This tournament definitely got away from Watson and Green. Green three putting on 16 and missing the birdie on 18, Watson three putting on 14 and bogeying the 18th. The 18th wasn't a kind hole for Tom Watson, it went pear shaped for him there as well in 1991.
They varied from year to year d/t the type of grass, mowing, and amount of rain. I have a story from an early round in '57 or '58 in which the greens were so fast that the player literally had to run to his ball to prevent it from rolling back down the hill.
This is surely golf's most overlooked great round...Someone else explained that the telecast was shortened due to CBS's commitment to covering a Celtics game that ran over. So, there weren't as many memories created on the day of the event, and until recently there wasn't that much footage available of Player's epic round. I now see at 46:58 that even what ought to have been the signature moment of his round was televised via split screen and from an odd angle...Player also suffered in that era by dint of his being from South Africa at a time when the world's consciousness was rising regarding that nation's heinous apartheid political system.
@@jojojo6147 Yes, and Gary McCord was banned for referring to the 17th green as being "bikini-waxed." No accounting for taste when you are dealing with the Masters Elite.
I always love looking at the way guys dressed back then. Tom Watson, Seve, and Gary player are impeccably dressed. Hubert Green and Funseth are wearing an almost identical outfit. What do you think the conversation was like at the first tee? Bro, you should have called me first lol
Maybe in the Top 5 Masters finishes of all time. The length of coverage dosent do Gary Players run justice because he was only -4 for the tournament through 8 holes. Maybe the best Masters Sunday up to that point.On a side note David Graham is the oldest looking 31 year old I’ve ever seen!
Funseth did something similar. And Green 3 jabbed 16. Those greens are greased. Watson, as he--irritated--pointed out in the cabin rallied and birdied 15 and 16. It was really the drive at 18 that was a choke.
Notice how unique each player was back then. They had their own style and own personality. Nowadays, they all dress exactly the same, have zero personality, and zero manliness.
Pretty impressive the last 3 irons Green played. Just couldn't get any of the putts to drop. This victory for Player over Green and Watson was as impressive as Nicklaus' in 86 over Kite and Norman. But it's kinda forgotten because Player isn't Ameican and--at least I think so--his naked competitiveness and relentless self-promotion make him kinda unlikable.
@@nillejoslin golfers were required to use the caddies from Augusta. All of the caddies at Augusta were black by rule. (no black golfers were allowed at the Masters until 1975 BTW)
