There will be no emotional farewell stroll up the 18th fairway, no hole-to-hole coronation that has greeted past champions as they made their way around Augusta National for the final time.

And yet, for 40 years, Verne Lundquist has been something of a Masters legend. He has delivered with passion and exuberance two of the most iconic declarations in Masters history, moments that will forever be embedded in tournament lore like Gene Sarazen's double eagle, Jack Nicklaus' stirring victory in 1986 and the last of Tiger Woods' five green jackets.

If he were somehow allowed a walk up the 18th fairway on Sunday, it is not unrealistic to think Masters patrons might greet him with the same emotional affection heaped on Arnold Palmer when he played in his 50th and final Masters in 2005. Such are the green-jacket moments Lundquist has emblazoned in golf's consciousness for four decades.

The 88th Masters that begins Thursday will be the 40th and final broadcast assignment for Lundquist, who, at 83, leaves behind two of the most tingling, goose-pimply moments no golf fan will ever forget.

His simple yet ebullient reaction in 1986 to a Nicklaus birdie putt at No. 17 — "Yes sir!"— ranks with Al Michaels' "Do You Believe in Miracles? Yes!" as one of the great broadcast moments in sports television history.

And, he delivered another masterpiece in 2005 after witnessing one of the most incredible shots in Masters history: Tiger Woods' chip-in for birdie from behind the 16th green when he used the slope to slowly back-track his shot toward the hole, the ball dramatically pausing on the lip before dropping in the cup.

"Oh my goodness," Lundquist shouted. "In your LIFE, have you ever seen anything like that?"

Jim Nantz, who will host the Masters for the 37th consecutive season, said those Lundquist gems will forever remain part of the tournament's fabric, a slice of charm that only the Masters can provide.

"It's a week of history where voices, they come back, we hear them again, we still feel and have front of mind the legends of yesteryear," Nantz said, getting choked up the other day during a conference call. "They come back in our lives. What I'm saying here is that Verne's going to always have a home with Augusta. He's going to be a part of Augusta forever. And those calls that he's made, they're going to be played back 50, 100, 200 years from now. He has permanent residence."

Lundquist has broadcast all sports with CBS since being hired in 1982, but he began covering the Masters in 1983 (he had a brief two-year hiatus with Turner Sports when CBS lost the NFL).

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