For Masters, CBS Sports Will Stick to Golf in Wake of Tiger Woods’s Arrest

On a conference call previewing the Masters, the question came up: What is the appropriate way to cover Woods next week?

CBS Sports says it will handle coverage of Tiger Woods "as news dictates." | Rusty Jarrett/Augusta National-Handout Photo

With or without Tiger Woods playing the Masters, there will be an elephant in the room during the year’s first major. 

Woods, of course, was recently arrested for a DUI after a rollover crash near his home in South Florida. And with so many indelible moments from Woods in Augusta over the years, it’s hard to watch the Masters, let alone any golf broadcast, without the 15-time major champion being mentioned. 

CBS, however, will be walking a tightrope. 

On a conference call Monday with the CBS Sports golf team, the question came up: What is the appropriate way to cover Woods at this year’s Masters?

David Berson, the president and CEO of CBS Sports, carefully led the response. 

“I can chime in here and maybe speak for the group,” he said. “It’s obviously a big topic. I first want to just say that thankfully, nobody is injured. That’s the most important thing coming out of the news from this past week and I definitely want to lead there.

“As for Tiger playing or not playing or being in Augusta or not being in Augusta, we don’t have information. And it’s not fair to anyone for us to speak about it or speculate. We just won’t do that. He and his team are going to have to be the ones who speak about it. It’s only fair if that’s the case. So, we hope you’ll respect and appreciate that, but we just really don’t want to speculate on something.”

Woods, before his arrest, had been recovering from an October back surgery and working towards playing in Augusta, which would be his first start since the 2024 British Open. Last week, he played in the indoor TGL finals for his Jupiter Links team, but afterward said his Masters status was still up in the air. 

After Berson’s answer, the reporter noted Woods will likely be mentioned regardless and followed up with, “Have you guys prepared for what that might look like?”

“Listen, Tiger is a story obviously, wherever he is,” Berson said. “But our job during the tournament itself will be to cover the tournament. Tiger obviously has a tremendous legacy at Augusta National with all his Masters victories and his voice in the sport. So, of course, we’ll touch on things as necessary as news dictates. But for coverage of the event itself, we’re going to cover the event.”

Whether Woods plays or not, he noted before his crash that he planned to be in Augusta anyway for past-champion festivities. It remains to be seen if any of that will change.