Taking over at the Masters

Tiger Woods’ quest for golf’s Grand Slam begins next week when he tees off at Augusta National Golf Club. His status as the favorite to win the Masters isn’t unusual, but there are some new wrinkles to coverage of the event for the first time in several years.

ESPN will carry live coverage of the first and second rounds, taking over the spot once occupied by cable network USA. It also will show, for the first time, the Par 3 event that takes place the Wednesday before the tournament begins.

For ESPN, landing the Masters was a nice development; its live men’s golf coverage in recent years has been limited to the British Open and to early round action from the U.S. Open. (The Golf Channel gobbled up most of the PGA Tour as part of an exclusive 15-year contract that began last year.)

Mike Tirico, a veteran broadcaster of the British Open, will anchor coverage of the early rounds. But announcers from CBS, which airs the final two rounds, will do most of the on-course reporting. The only ESPN personalities on air will be Tirico and Ian Baker-Finch with some appearances by Andy North.

John Wildhack, ESPN’s executive vice president for programming and acquisitions, downplayed the lack of ESPN personalities.

“I don’t think you’re going to hear people saying ’This does or doesn’t feel like an ESPN event,’ ” Wildhack said. “It’s the Masters. It’s never been our intent to say ’How can we inject ESPN into it?’ ”

ESPN will follow the recent tradition of broadcasting the tournament with limited commercial interruptions. It will show the first two rounds live between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and then re-broadcast them between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Woods, of course, is the biggest story heading into the tournament. The world’s top-ranked golfer won five straight PGA Tour events earlier this year and enters the Masters with many predicting a Grand Slam.

“We haven’t seen a golf run like this one, maybe, [in] two generations, if ever,” Tirico said.

But Tirico said for the majors, the leader board often dictates coverage, not an individual player. And Tirico downplayed some of the early season hype that surrounded Woods. He described the talk of Woods winning every tournament or golf’s Grand Slam as “so far ahead of reality.”

“To start that conversation now I thought was a little ridiculous,” Tirico said.

The live coverage of the Par 3 contest is a new feature for Masters coverage and should provide a look at the lighter side of many of the top golfers. Tirico recalled a Masters from several years ago that featured NBA great David Robinson, the 7-foot former San Antonio Spurs center, caddying for Corey Pavin, who stands a mere 5-9.

“It’s an event that’s unique to the Masters and unique to sports,” Tirico said. “Here you have the greatest players in the world the day before, and they’re having fun and letting their hair down. They’re interacting with the patrons, and I think some of the images from the Par 3 will be terrific.”