The 2026 Masters got underway this week, with the esteemed event once at the heart of a major falling-out between golf hero Tom Watson and broadcaster Gary McCord. Controversy ignited during CBS's 1994 Masters coverage when US commentator McCord cracked a joke about how rapid the greens were at Augusta National. While most viewers at home found it amusing, the comment didn't go down well with the Augusta National's hierarchy, along with two-time Masters champion Tom Watson.

Such was Watson's anger that he even sent a letter demanding McCord be removed from the broadcast. Just several months later, McCord's Master's role was over. The seemingly innocuous incident took place in the final round of the 1994 Masters, as McCord provided commentary while Jose Maria Olazabal lined up a putt on the 17th green.

In a humorous attempt to articulate just how quick the greens were running, McCord said: "I don't think they mow these greens, I think they bikini wax them." While the joke seemed to capture everything viewers loved about McCord, Augusta National failed to see the humor in the comment.

Initially, McCord appeared to have escaped any repercussions. Neal Pilson, who was the chief of CBS Sports at the time, was seated directly next to McCord and seemed to appreciate the quip.

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However, circumstances took a dark turn when Watson became involved, seeking answers. The eight-time major winner and two-time Masters champion personally wrote a letter to CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian.

"I get called into Frank's office and he goes, 'Close the door.' So I close the door, and he throws me a letter, and it's written in pencil," McCord said on an episode of Kostis and McCord: Off Their Rockers.

"And I look at the letter, it says addressed to Augusta National. And it says, 'We need to eradicate this lesion on golf. He is the Howard Stern [American Radio DJ] of golf and we need to pay attention to this and what he said,' signed Tom Watson."

Once Chirkinian demanded to see McCord and showed him the letter, the commentator's future was all but sealed. Augusta National is renowned for its protective stance toward the Masters and McCord's employers, CBS, offered no backing for the experienced commentator.

Within a matter of months, McCord was quietly dropped from all future Masters coverage, though he remained a regular presence on CBS's golf output until 2019.

The controversy did not end there. The following year at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, McCord confronted Watson over the letter, feeling aggrieved that Watson had not approached him directly before escalating the matter to Augusta's hierarchy.

Despite the ill feeling between them, the two men eventually buried the hatchet and today enjoy an amicable relationship. Looking back on the episode, McCord concedes it unexpectedly boosted his profile as a broadcaster.

"I got more publicity for doing this than anything I ever did in golf," he said in a later interview. Nonetheless, the incident remains one of the most infamous episodes in the history of televised golf - a cautionary tale about overstepping the mark with humour at Augusta.