Masters TV schedule 2015: Coverage, broadcast for Sunday’s final round at Augusta

It’s Jim Nantz’s day to shine. Sunday at the Masters has arrived, and the longtime CBS broadcaster has undoubtedly loaded his victory puns into the chamber.

While Nantz has been the mainstay for modern CBS coverage, the network has actually had the Masters rights every year since they became available in 1956. They operate on a one-year contract, with Augusta renewing each and every year with perhaps an occasional request or two (such as, get Gary McCord off our property).

It’s definitely a unique TV deal and the coverage is just as odd -- and certainly archaic. The Masters has always limited the amount of hours golf can be shown on TV. Clifford Roberts, a club founder with Bobby Jones, always felt like too much television would take away from the event and also hurt attendance. Even in 2015, that general tenet is still obeyed so we get frustratingly scant TV coverage compared to the other majors, and even just a regular inconsequential PGA Tour stop.

This all came to a head on Saturday, when Twitter erupted in anger as Tiger Woods caught fire and torched the front nine at Augusta. The “stripe show” was probably Tiger’s best stretch of golf in two years. He was dropping almost every shot on top of the flagstick or within 10 feet. But not a damn soul could watch it because CBS couldn’t come on the air until 3 p.m. ET. So we got a highlight of one tee shot through Twitter, but had to otherwise rely on hole-tracker graphics on the Masters website.

People were furious and the sentiment was nearly unanimous. There was no good reason that people could not watch the most popular player in the game play some of his best golf in a couple years and at the biggest tournament of the season. The folks at Augusta either had a laugh and bathed in the peasantry’s furor, or maybe took it under consideration to discuss changes. Either way, the rules and coverage format are antediluvian.

It gets a little better on Sunday, when the coverage window is bumped up an hour to 2 p.m. ET. That will at least cover Tiger’s entire round. Woods has a 2:30 p.m. tee time with Rory McIlroy. So expect to see that entire twosome through the entire front nine, even if they’re not making a particularly strong charge at Jordan Spieth, who starts the day 10 shots ahead of them.

Spieth and Justin Rose will go at 2:50 p.m. ET, setting up a finish on CBS right around 7 p.m. If you’re unable to watch on TV, Masters.com will actually have a simulcast stream up and running. That is on top of the four different streams that they already have set up for different spots and different groups on the course.

Here are all your media options for the final round:

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Live Masters on the Range - CBS Sports Network

2 - 7 p.m.: Live final round coverage - CBS

2 - 7 p.m.: Simulcast of TV coverage at Masters.com

Available at Masters.com

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Live Masters on the Range

11:45 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Amen Corner live stream

12:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: Nos. 15 and 16 live stream

12:30 p.m. - completion (~7 p.m.): Featured Group 1 and Featured Group 2 streams (times TBD)

Conclusion of play: Green jacket ceremony