Did CBS Sports Botch The 72nd Hole At The 2026 Masters?

It was a thrilling final day at The Masters this year once again, with Rory McIlroy prevailing once more at Augusta National to secure back-to-back titles.

Despite pressure from Justin Rose, Cameron Young, and a resurgent Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy showed his dominance and wrapped things up on the 18th hole.

While the atmosphere at Augusta was electric, spectators at home complained that the TV coverage was sub-par down the final stretch.

McIlroy took a two-stroke lead into the par-4 final hole, the setting for his victorious playoff moment last year and a hole the Northern Irishman knows all too well.

However, as McIlroy fired his approach shot towards the green from the right trees, the camera operators seemingly lost track of the location of the ball as it dropped into the front-left greenside bunker.

To make the situation worse, the same thing happened with Cameron Young's approach shot just moments earlier.

Fans at home were not happy with the coverage - having been critical of it earlier in the day, too.

One took to Twitter/X to write: “CBS not being able to show the location of the final two approach shots of The Masters is the cherry on top of an all-time horrible broadcast."

Another added: "This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they'll talk about the 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory's ball went."

Meanwhile, Dan Rapaport had his say, adding: "The biggest 10 minutes of the year in our sport and we’ve got no idea where the golf balls are."

The most heinous moment of all, though, was the angle used to show McIlroy's winning putt. Indeed, sitting at home, it was impossible to see whether he had actually sunk the one-footer or not as he was blocking the hole.

That's not McIlroy's fault, of course, and figures in the game were quick to highlight this error.

Ryan Glasspiegel said on social media that he was getting lots of messages about the coverage, writing: "How was CBS Masters production so perfect all weekend then on the 18th they messed up like three things, including losing Rory’s ball on the crucial shot?"

Clay Travis saw the ironic side of things, writing: "Still laughing about CBS having a billion cameras on the 18th hole at the Masters and somehow still missed having any idea where both guys approach shots on 18 went and had a camera shot where you couldn’t see the hole for Rory’s winning putt."

Meanwhile, one fan added: "Very on brand for golf broadcasting that the cameraman lined up in the only place where you couldn’t see if Rory missed the putt. Only the 72nd hole at The Masters, not a huge deal."

Scenes of McIlroy celebrating with family and friends, collecting his Green Jacket, and addressing the patrons made for a delightlful post-round broadcast.

But, CBS will need to learn from its mistakes when The Masters comes around next year.

What did you make of The Masters final round coverage? Let us know in the comments section below.