Katie Goodale-Imagn Images
While most golf fans seemed to enjoy CBS’ coverage of the Masters — particularly the long stretch of silence from announcer Jim Nantz as Rory McIlroy finally won the tournament — Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo has another take, as he accused CBS of trying to ‘jinx’ the 35-year-old golfer.
Appearing on First Take on Wednesday, April 16, Mad Dog assessed the CBS was prematurely celebrating Rory McIlroy winning the Masters and thus putting a jinx on him.
McIlroy did ultimately do enough to earn the Green Jacket but it was certainly a roller coaster of emotions, particularly after he missed a birdie put on 18 that sent the Masters to an overtime hole against Justin Thomas.
Nevertheless, Mad Dog was intensely critical of Nantz and CBS, saying they were too premature in their celebrations of McIlroy and assumptions he’d win the Masters.
“They went on and on and on, much too premature. They spent so much time in the last two hours jinxing him! They thought it was over on 13. They thought it was over on 15 when he hit that great 7-iron, he hooked it into the green, the par-5. They thought it was over on 16 when he hit the nice iron shot to get to the par-3, hit a nice shot. They thought it was over on 17 when he birdied the hole. And then they thought it was over on the tee shot I just showed ya on 18!” Mad Dog ranted.
“You can’t do that with McIlroy! He’s not Jack [Nicklaus], he’s not Tiger [Woods]! When you gave them a three-shot lead, they were never blowing a tournament. Rory’s up and down, that’s why it’s so much fun. When you think it’s over, it isn’t. When he’s great, then he’s bad. When he’s bad, like the playoff hole, he’s great! Let it play out from an audience perspective! I had so many fans rooting for Rory say, ‘Jeez, they’re jinxing it! Shut up!’ And you know what? They’re right!” he continued.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo takes issue with CBS’ coverage of Rory McIlroy’s Masters win.
“They spent so much time in the last two hours jinxing him… you can’t do that with McIlroy! He’s not Jack, he’s not Tiger… I had so many fans rooting for Rory who said, ‘jeez, they’re jinxing… pic.twitter.com/g01Nghxwvb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 16, 2025
With his win at the 2025 Masters — 11 years after his previous Major win — McIlroy has now become the sixth golfer in the history of the sports to win a career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods (who was the last to accomplish the feat in the year 2000).
McIlroy will look to build on his Masters win next month when the PGA Championship, the second major of the year, tees off from Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 18.