In 2019, Tiger Woods had an opening-round tee time of 11:04 a.m. ET at the Masters. The anticipation around his participation was massive as he was starting in his second consecutive Masters after missing back-to-back tournaments. While Woods enthralled the crowd gathered around the 1st hole at Augusta, millions of fans at home were missing the magic. Traditional TV coverage didn’t begin until 3 p.m. on ESPN, leaving the bulk of fans in mystery over Tiger’s opening round. While there were streaming options available, many fans were left frustrated by the lack of live morning coverage on television.​ Fast forward six years, and little seems to have changed.

Over the last couple of days, Augusta National has presented some outstanding content. The Masters Press Conference gave the fans some insight into every top golfer’s mentality going into the Green Jacket event. It was followed by an excellent show of the Champions Dinner, where Scottie Scheffler treated former champions to an exquisite dinner. On Wednesday, fans were treated to the Par 3 Contest, where the wives and children of every golfer were present. Everything was covered excellently by the Augusta National broadcast. However, they failed to deliver when it mattered the most – the Round 1 coverage of the 2025 Masters Tournament.

The mood of the fans was already soured when the opening practice for the 89th edition of the Masters was suspended due to storms. A large legion of fans was evacuated, with officials announcing the course would not reopen and that the ticket holders would be sent refunds in May. But fan discontent only grew after they were unable to catch the start of the opening round yet again. But have you wondered why that is the case?

Rather than auctioning off its television rights to the highest bidder, Augusta National Golf Club opts to pay its longtime broadcast partner, CBS, annually, ensuring it retains full control over how the Masters is televised. Lucrative domestic TV deals are passed over in favor of preserving Augusta’s longstanding partnership with CBS to broadcast the event in the United States.

Profit isn’t the driving force at Augusta, which helps explain the famously low concession prices and the limited availability of merchandise. That same philosophy extends to its broadcast decisions. The limited TV coverage isn’t a logistical constraint, it’s a deliberate choice by the club. The strict rules imposed by Augusta are to preserve the prestige and unique feel of the event. But fans are now growing tired of this approach.

Golf tournaments have often received backlash for poor TV broadcasting. From delays and bad commentary to missing out on big moments, the PGA Tour has come under fire for its coverage. But this is the Masters we are talking about, the first major of the year. Millions of fans are waiting for it with excitement, only to see their enthusiasm being dampened as they cannot find any TV coverage of it until the afternoon.

The Masters App does provide early coverage, but not until the first group hits 4 at 8:30, and not every group is available on the live stream.

One fan pointed out on X, “A tradition unlike any other, waking up on Masters Thursday only to remember it’s the worst coverage of the 4 majors and doesn’t start full coverage until 2 PM. It’s 2025, have full coverage all day like the other majors.”  Others in the community also shared the same concern about the coverage.

Netizens frustrated over embarrassing 2025 Masters Tournament coverage

Missing out on so much of the action of the first round of the Masters Tournament is unacceptable for many fans. They pointed out how this is a common occurrence for the biggest event of the year. A fan tweeted, “Every single year I forgot how utterly abysmal the early coverage of Day 1 of the Masters is.”

They also added details about the coverage timeline they are experiencing in the comment. One fan’s tweet read, “Two hours after first players teed off the only shot I’ve seen live is a Mike Weir approach shot, got told Bryson is level through 4 despite not teeing off for 4 hours, and now we’re watching the ceremonial tee shots from 3 hours ago.” 

Unfortunately, even if fans are used to terrible coverage on day 1, they still hoped it would be different ahead. But as one of them stated, “For literally ANY other tournament, coverage starts as soon as the first player hits the first tee shot. People are on the course at Augusta right now and there is no way to watch the #Masters. Make it make sense.” The beginning of the coverage of any other PGA Tour event rarely faces any issues, so this was a little unexpected.

Another fan didn’t want to be too critical of the coverage of the Green Jacket tournament. But they couldn’t help themselves as they tweeted, “Don’t say it Don’t say it Don’t say it Don’t say it Don’t say it *The Masters app is cool and everything, but it’s overrated. Oh and no TV coverage is so dumb* Ok I said it.” Like most, they too believe that the Master’s app doesn’t deliver when it promised, and the TV schedule is even worse.

Someone also shared more details about what the broadcast schedule of the Masters Tournament round one on TV looks like. They tweeted, “No Main Feed Coverage until 3pm for the Masters is criminal @ESPNPlus,” criticizing ESPN+ for the limited coverage of the action at Augusta National.

Do you also have a 2025 Masters Tournament bad coverage story? Share your experience in the comments section.