CBS analyst was banned for life from The Masters for remark he made on commentary

A CBS analyst was banned from The Masters for life by Augusta National after a comment he made whilst on-air.

Augusta National is known for its many unique traditions, including the Champions Dinner, the awarding of a green jacket to winners and the Par 3 Contest.

Unlike the other majors, meanwhile, Augusta operates a fixed global broadcast window for The Masters - which is the reason why you can only watch specified Featured Groups in the first hours of each day's play until the world coverage begins.

The Masters has a long-running partnership with CBS, which is agreed in advance of each year's tournament.

CBS provided coverage of The Masters live from Augusta for the first time in 1956, showing the final four holes, before broadcasting the tournament in colour 10 years later.

Given the illustrious nature of the agreement, it is unsurprising that CBS analysts, in particular, have to be on their best behaviour while on the grounds of Augusta National.

The club took a dim view of comments made by analyst Gary McCord, a former professional golfer turned commentator, all the way back in 1994.

McCord, who played in three PGA Championship events between 1980 and 1984 and made the cut once, joined the CBS team in at the age of 37 in 1986.

Gary McCord had spent eight years with CBS before he was banned from The Masters (Image: Getty)

He worked with the US broadcasting station at golf events across the country for 34 years up until his departure in 2020 - except for one.

During coverage of the 1994 tournament, he remarked that the speed of the greens on the 17th was such that he thought the groundskeepers had 'bikini waxed' them rather than mowed them.

He also used the phrase 'body bags' to describe a separate spot on the course.

McCord was hauled into the office of CBS director Frank Chirkinian days after the tournament, which was won by Jose Maria Olazabal, had concluded.

He was told in no uncertain terms that his services were no longer wanted at The Masters as a direct result of the comment.

McCord claimed years later that the decision was taken following a hand-written letter from two-time Masters winner Tom Watson, who had demanded his removal from the commentary team.

Watson was said to have described McCord as a 'lesion' on the sport, and compared him to the controversial US radio broadcaster Howard Stern.

Tom Watson wrote a hand-written letter to CBS over McCord (Image: Getty)

He told Golf.com: "It was late in the day and we went to a commercial break, so I started looking at a magazine in the booth.

"I see an advertisement for a place called the Golden Door Spa, and it's a menu of things - cucumber presses, seaweed wraps and, all the way down at the bottom, bikini waxes.

"Then all of a sudden, we come back to me at the tower on 17.

"I say, 'One thing these guys are afraid of when they come here is green speed. But at the end of the day, these things just accelerate beyond belief. In fact, I don't think they mow these things, I think they bikini wax them'.

"Neal Pilson, the CBS Sports President - who was sitting next to me - laughed his a** off.

"But then about a week later, all hell broke loose, and that's when Frank [Chrikinian] said, 'Okay, you're going to have to fight here'.

"It meant I had to fight to save my career from imploding. I just followed Frank's guidelines and stayed above it.

"I knew I was done at Augusta. They were steadfast and I was apologetic - in the media that is, not to them directly."